


The Four Horsewomen of Sanctuary

by ahunter8056



Category: Diablo II, Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Accessible if you've never played the game, Adventurers, Crossover, Diablo AU, Eventual Baysha & Charlynch, F/F, Four Horsewomen, Four Horsewomen as the player characters, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Slow Burn, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, if not please let me know
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2020-02-17
Packaged: 2020-06-24 09:42:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 54,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19721119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ahunter8056/pseuds/ahunter8056
Summary: The Four Horsewomen acting as the player in the videogame Diablo II.Taking place on the world of Sanctuary, a realm created in the Eternal Conflict between Angels and Demons, a party of adventurers seek to stop the spreading evil that seems to follow a dark wanderer. They soon find themselves hunting the Prime Evils, in a quest that will test their resolve.Bayley - Paladin serving in the Knights of Westmarch. She acts as the groups protector, utilising healing spells.Becky - Barbarian from Mount Arreat. Wields twin flaming axes, and makes a lot of puns (what else would you expect from her?)Charlotte - Amazon from the Skovos Isles. Wields a spear, using a combination of physical strength and athleticism to attack her foes.Sasha - Sorceress of the Zann Esu Mage clan. Fresh out of training, she's eager to prove herself, sometimes to the point of recklessness. Lightning-based, appropriate for her risk-taking nature.





	1. The Den of Evil

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Thanks for clicking on this. This is my first piece of pro wrestling fan fiction, and first multi-chapter piece. This is just the beginning, so please bear with it if the synopsis grabs your attention. I've specifically written it in mind for people who've never played the game, so I've tried to make it as accessible as possible. Even if you have played the game, I'm sure you won't mind revisiting the game's fantastic, engaging storyline.
> 
> Enough babbling, time to get on with the story. Please, enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge thank you to AttackPlatypus for reading through my first draft and giving me feedback!

After many days of travel, the purple haired sorceress finally approached her destination.

A few months ago, an evil arose in the town of Tristram. Diablo, one of the three Prime Evils, was released from his ancient prison beneath the town’s cathedral, and his horde of demon minions poured forth and attacked the town. A group of adventurers ventured down into the cathedral’s depths and managed to slay the Lord of Terror. Though the town was saved, the trouble seemed to have since moved on. The Rogue Monastery, located to the north-east, was besieged by demons and ultimately lost.

With the rain continuing to pour down, Sasha Banks stepped through the wet, muddy ground and approached the camp's entrance. She took note of how makeshift its appearance was. With only a forge and a few tents scattered around, and only wooden walls on each side to hinder entry, it didn’t exactly look like it would evoke fear in the minions of Hell. No longer having a Monastery to call home, the Rogues weren’t exactly much of a threat out here, which in turn means they weren’t in any immediate danger.

But immediate danger or not, Sasha journeyed to the Rogue Encampment to offer her assistance, and to stop the rising tide of evil. Having been trained under the watchful eye of the Zann Esu Clan, one of the oldest Mage Clans, since being recruited at the age of seven, Sasha had trained most of her life in ways of magic, dreaming of putting her powers to good use. More than anything else in the world, Sasha desired to prove her worth in a trying situation, defeating evil to make the world a better place.

As a trained sorceress, she knows that if left unchecked, evil will continue to grow until nobody is safe. That’s the future she hopes to prevent. Tristram may have only been one town, but it represented the danger that comes with unleashing demons.

Ignoring the inquisitive looks as she entered the encampment, Sasha strode towards the dying embers of a fire at the centre of the camp, having spotted a man whose countenance appeared friendly and welcoming, rather than apprehensive and wary like those of the surrounding rogues.

“Greetings stranger!” the man said with a welcoming smile. “I’m not surprised to see your kind here. Many adventurers have travelled this way since the recent troubles began.”

“Are any of them still around?” Sasha questioned.

“No, they all took off once they realised the danger of the surrounding wilderness.”

“Then you’ll be glad to know that I have no intention of leaving until this land is safe once again.”

“I’m thrilled to hear one so determined. I trust that you know what you’re getting yourself into. My name is Warriv.”

“Sasha.”

“Pleased to make your acquaintance!” Warriv smiled genuinely, before his expression darkened, taking on a sombre tone. “No doubt you’ve heard about the tragedy that befell the town of Tristram. Some say that Diablo, the Lord of Terror, walks the world again!”

“Would you agree with that?” Sasha questioned, tilting her head slightly to the side.

“I don’t know if I believe that, but a dark wanderer did travel this route a few weeks ago. He was headed east to the mountain pass guarded by the Rogue Monastery. Maybe it’s nothing, but evil seems to have trailed in his wake. You see, shortly after the wanderer went through, the monastery’s gates to the pass were closed and strange creatures began ravaging the countryside.”

“I’ve faced all manner of strange creatures before. I have no problem venturing outside the camp to make it safer for those more vulnerable.”

“I’m sure a lot of folks will appreciate that. Until it’s safer outside the camp and the gates are reopened, I’ll remain here with my caravan. I hope to leave for Lut Gholein before the shadow that fell over Tristram consumes us all. If you’re still alive then, I’ll take you along.” Warriv turned, gesturing to the cart behind him.

“You’d better begin your preparations then. Because I promise you, I won’t stop until the immediate danger is gone and the Monastery is cleansed of evil,” Sasha assured with a determined scowl etched on her face.

“Confident, brash, I’m already starting to like you.” Warriv chuckled. “You should talk to Akara too. She seems to be the leader of this camp. Maybe she can tell you more.”

Sasha had mixed feelings towards the jovial caravan master. On one hand, he had outwardly seemed cheerful and welcoming. But on the other, Sasha had always had trust issues. Until someone had earned her respect, she saw no reason to trust them. And as she had experienced in the past, sometimes people only appeared pleasant on the outside because they were anything but on the inside. She decided to think it over later and appear respectful for the moment, until given a reason to behave otherwise. Even at her young age, Sasha was wise enough to know that the Rogues likely wouldn’t trust her to help them if she swaggered in with poor manners, though the mischievous thought of doing so did make her chuckle internally.

With a polite nod, Sasha turned and walked in the direction Warriv pointed her in, approaching an elderly woman wearing a purple hooded cloak. The woman latched her eyes onto Sasha as she approached, studying her as she neared closer.

“Greetings, young Sorceress. It is good to see more of your kind at work in the world these dark days. In my opinion, the world needs more women to fight against the great shadow. But I am forgetting my manners…” Akara trailed off, realising that she’d spoken for too long without a proper introduction. “I am Akara, High Priestess of the Sisterhood of the Sightless Eye.”

“I’m Sasha, and I’m glad to meet one so wise and proficient in magic,” Sasha responded, privately wondering if she’d laid the flattery on too thick.

“I welcome you, Sasha, to our camp, but I’m afraid I can offer you but poor shelter within these rickety walls.”

“I don’t need shelter; I only need to know where I should seek demons to slay,” Sasha stated matter-of-factly, taking no particular care to avoid appearing rude. “Tell me Akara, what exactly happened in these lands?”

Akara took a deep breath before launching into her recount of events. “You see, our ancient Sisterhood has fallen under a strange curse. The mighty Citadel, from which we have guarded the gates to the east for generations, has been corrupted by the evil demoness, Andariel.”

Sasha noted Akara shudder as she paused in her story, allowing her time to gather herself before continuing.

“I still can’t believe it, but she turned many of our sister rogues against us and drove us from our ancestral home. Now the last defenders of the Sisterhood are either dead, or scattered throughout the wilderness.”

Sasha felt a pang of sympathy for the Rogues shoot through her for upon hearing this knowledge, allowing some of her emotions to slip through her internal walls, reflecting in her eyes, with a sympathetic smile slightly curving her mouth.

“I implore you, Sasha, please help us. Find a way to lift this terrible curse, and we will pledge our loyalty to you for all time,” Akara pleaded. Luckily for her, Sasha took little convincing, given that that was her main purpose in venturing here.

“Trust me Akara, I will not rest until I’ve shown these demons who’s boss, and you Rogues have your monastery back. You deserve more than to be stuck out here, without the monastery to call home,” Sasha stated with a confident expression on her face.

“Thank you, young sorceress, I will offer any guidance that I can.” Akara gratefully offered.

“What’s the most immediate threat here?” Sasha questioned, eager to begin assisting the Rogues.

“There is a place of great evil in the wilderness. Kashya’s Rogue scouts have informed me that a cave nearby is filled with shadowy creatures, and horrors from beyond the grave.” Akara paused momentarily, ensuring that Sasha was listening intently to the danger she was trying to communicate. “I fear that these creatures are massing for an attack against our encampment. If you are sincere about helping us, find the dark labyrinth and destroy the foul beasts!”

Sasha nodded before assuring Akara, “I promise you; I’ll make sure to clear the cave of demonic infestation. And you can bank on that.”

“May the Great Eye watch over you.”

Sasha turned to leave, and began advancing towards the encampment’s exit, when Akara’s words caused her to pause in her tracks.

“I should add that many Rogue scouts have died in that horrible place. We cannot afford to lose any more. If you choose to enter that Den of Evil, you must do so alone.”

Sasha nodded in acknowledgement, before proceeding onwards. It was fair enough, she pondered. With defences spread so thin, and outside support minimal, it only made sense to not risk more than necessary.

Momentarily stuck in her thoughts, Sasha didn’t notice the stranger, a woman with an intimidating scowl directed at Sasha, move to block her path until they were standing face to face.

“Welcome, outlander, to our glorious hovel. I know you’re here to challenge the evil that has driven us from our ancestral home,” the stranger said with an insincere tone, hardening her expression further before continuing. “But know this, Akara may be our spiritual leader, but I command the Rogues in battle!”

“I take it you must be Kashya?” Sasha asked.

“I am. It will take more than killing a few beasts in the wilderness to earn my trust,” Kashya explained, her expression cold to ensure Sasha understood that she was deadly serious. Sasha nodded to communicate her understanding. Although others may be angered or feel threatened by Kashya’s cold behaviour and complete lack of trust, Sasha instantly empathised with the woman. She too had trouble trusting others, and so Sasha unquestionably identified with Kashya’s outlook. While Sasha had clearly yet to earn Kashya’s respect, she’d already begun to earn Sasha’s through her cold and wary demeanour.

“Off to cleanse the Den of Evil, are you?” Kashya called out after Sasha had turned her back and begun walking away. The question stopped Sasha dead in her tracks, listening intently to what else the cold, militaristic Rogue had to say. “The demons in that cave have claimed many of my finest archers. I wonder how you will fare.”

“Hmph,” Sasha huffed incredulously at the obvious challenge and continued disrespect. Trying to douse the flames of anger rising in her chest, Sasha exhaled sharply before continuing to walk away without responding. She’d show her, Sasha thought. When she returned from cleansing the foul cave of it’s evil, Kashya would have no choice but to respect her.

As she exited the camp Sasha readied her magical staff, preparing herself to combat the wandering demons who might cross her path. “Time to show these demons who’s the legit boss around here,” Sasha stated to herself, building her self-confidence to psyche herself up. Sasha forced her body to stride with as much confidence as she could muster. If she ever felt fear, she always made damn sure to never let her fear show openly. Despite her determination to project a mask of confidence around the Rogues, she nevertheless felt intimidated at the prospect of having to face an untold number of shadowy horrors in that cave. Her confidence was just that: a mask. Inside Sasha knew this, but would never admit that fact to anyone.

* * *

The rain had not let up at all in the brief time she’d spent inside the Rogue Encampment, but poor weather would not prevent the young Sorceress from trying to fulfil her potential. Sasha had dreamt for years of proving her worth and making the world a better place. Hunting down the evil that threatened the Rogues was her chance to do it. If that meant she had to endure the dismal weather, then so be it.

The Blood Moor was a far more intimidating name than this area warranted, Sasha thought to herself. Were it not for the persistently poor weather, she’d happily walk across the moor, green grass stretching as far as the eye can see. In spite of that, she sensed danger permeating the air. Sasha was ready to be on her guard, unwilling to be caught unawares.

Looking to her left, Sasha didn’t see any creatures in her immediate vicinity. Upon looking to her right, however, she spotted a skeleton slumped against a rock. Flesh and clothing had been clearly picked clean by the monstrous creatures said to roam the surrounding area. Taking a moment to ensure that her hood was firmly placed to cover her head, Sasha briefly ran a hand through her hair, before she realised what she was doing and stopped herself, quickly dropping her hand back to her side. As far as she was concerned, openly showing nerves was a sign of weakness, and Sasha held a long-standing determination to never appear weak.

A movement in the distance further along the path caught Sasha’s eye, causing her to grip her staff with both hands and advance closer to the source. As she got closer, the outline was clearly that of a Fallen: a race of impish demonic servants with red flesh. Given their immense numbers throughout the world, they were the typical guise one would imagine when it came to demons. Though they can be dangerous in large numbers, a single Fallen should prove to be no challenge for the young sorceress.

Sensing the adventurer’s presence, the Fallen bared his pointy teeth, shouting “Rakanishu!” as it advanced towards Sasha, ready to brutalise her with his spiked club. For some unknown reason, the Fallen tended to shout the name of Rakanishu, a fearsome Fallen commander, upon entering combat. Recent reports claimed that Rakanishu was rumoured to have made his way to the surrounding area. With this information in mind, Sasha hoped to have gained adequate experience, should the time come to face him in battle.

Focusing her mind on the current threat, Sasha pointed her staff at the advancing Fallen, a dazzling, deadly, white ball of pure lightning erupting from the tip. The lightning bolt darted with frightening speed towards the Fallen. The pitiful creature could do nothing but rearrange his features in pure terror before the lightning bolt connected with his body. The red creature’s body spasmed, electricity shooting through before dropping dead to the ground. As a sorceress, she was trained in three forms of elemental magic. Those being fire, lightning, and cold. Of the three, lightning was her preferred form of attack. While fire and cold could be considered to be more consistent than lightning, Sasha liked the unpredictability of lightning, her risk-taking mindset happy to shoot multiple bolts of lightning at a time if it meant just one of those bolts having a much higher chance of inflicting critical damage compared to the rest.

A cry was heard, and Sasha turned to see another Fallen fleeing the scene, having witnessed the fate of his now dead brethren. She should have known that this wouldn’t be a lone Fallen, they had a reputation for always travelling in packs. The Fallen were also widely known to be a cowardly race, running at the first sign of strength. Nevertheless, one retreating Fallen could result in one more to join a swarm. Sasha gave chase, insistent that the demon could not be allowed to get away. Although the Fallen had a head start, Sasha had the advantage. As a sorceress, she did not have to be in close quarters to engage her foe. One deadly charged bolt of lightning from her staff later, the second Fallen lay dead.

Not bad for her first encounter with demonic foes, Sasha thought to herself. While her training prepared her for these situations, training was no substitute for pure experience. Training in a safe environment with mentors guiding you could only get you so far. Out here in the wide-open world, you were on your own. Engaging with a foe involved the risk of death, something not present in her training. That’s not to say that her training wasn’t gruelling or harmless, but if something did go wrong, there would always be a mentor on hand to protect her from mortal harm. The memory of her personal mentor, Trish Stratus, filled her with happy memories spent training with the accomplished blonde sorceress. Despite the warm feeling in her chest from recalling happy memories, Sasha shook her head and blinked them away as hard as she could. It would do her no good to reminisce, exposed out in the open as she was. Taking her mind off the task at hand and dulling her wits could get her killed.

Venturing further along the path, Sasha was optimistic following her easy dispatch of the two Fallen, when a sharp pain shot through her leg. Glancing downwards, she spotted a quill embedded in her leg, blood dripping from the wound. Gritting her teeth, she yanked the quill out and threw it to the ground before looking around for the source. She didn’t have to look far, with a nearby Quill Rat arching it’s back, preparing to launch a second quill. Quill Fiends are troublesome creatures, firing quills at innocent travellers from their dagger-like spine. Luckily for Sasha, Quill Rats are the weakest members of the species, usually dispatched without much trouble.

Allowing her anger to intensify her attack, Sasha fired a furious lightning bolt at the troublesome pest. Her intensified rage built up the electrical charge to more damaging levels than her previous battle with the Fallen, killing the Quill Rat. Sasha felt satisfaction from the kill. Although they weren’t demonic, Quill Rats were a frequent nuisance for travellers, and far too aggressive for her liking. One less Quill Rat would make the road safer.

With the immediate threat gone, Sasha took the time to examine her punctured skin. It wasn’t deep, a minor wound. Sasha rubbed at her wound, hissing in pain. That damn Quill Rat! She mentally reminded herself to purchase some armour when she had acquired enough gold from her adventures. Her robe might add to the mage aesthetic, but it was not practical for defending her body from combat. One hack, slice, chop, or any other adjective for striking with a weapon, and Sasha would have a mortal wound to worry about. Most mages relied on vanity, forgoing practical armour for a more regal appearance. Sasha had already decided that she would not follow the same example, if she wished to remain alive and healthy. Given that she was alone, and aware of her inexperience, she could use all the protection she could get.

Sasha continued down the path, battling a few scattered Fallen and Quill Rats along the way. Before too long, she noticed a humanoid shape in the distance. She called out, “Hey you! Do you need assistance?”

The figure stumbled towards her, Sasha pondering if the person could be injured. As they came closer, Sasha realised with horror that they were beyond injury. This was no living human. It was clearly a rotting corpse, animated in the form of a zombie. Shaking her horrified reaction away almost as soon as it came, Sasha shot a lightning bolt towards the shambling horror. To her surprise, the lightning bolt did not fell the foul creature. It stunned it momentarily, before continuing to advance towards the gobsmacked sorceress. Beginning to panic, Sasha fired off a second lightning bolt. Thankfully, this one did manage to stop the zombie’s advance, with it collapsing in an unmoving pile of rotting flesh.

Gasping in relief, allowing a grateful smirk to cross her face, Sasha made a mental note regarding the durability of zombies compared to Fallen and Quill Rats. She’d certainly have to take more precautionary measures regarding zombies. She couldn’t expect them to fall as easily as Quill Rats or Fallen. She might have plenty of, arguably artificial, confidence within herself, but she was no fool. She knew better than to underestimate her foes, an ideal ingrained in her throughout her training. Seeing no enemies in sight, she allowed herself a brief moment to recall one particular day in her training.

_“Are you ready Sasha?” Trish Stratus asked._

_Sasha gave a firm nod and responded with determination, “I’m ready.”_

_“Here we go!” Trish flourished her staff, casting forth a brilliant blue light that travelled swiftly towards the cage, magically breaking the seal and releasing the creature it housed._

_“Aww, that’s what I have to fight?” Sasha questioned in bemusement, before grinning with amusement. “But it’s so little! How is this a test?” Sasha gestured towards the small humanoid in front of her. With its razor-sharp teeth showing in a devilish grin, and tribal marking all over its skin, it might instil fear in her if it were a few feet taller. But the creature’s height barely came up to her waist. As it was, Sasha found it impossible to take the creature seriously. This had to be some sort of joke, there was no way this creature could be as dangerous as her mentor had warned her beforehand._

_In her lackadaisical attitude, Sasha had neglected to notice the steel knife glinting in the small humanoid’s grip. Without warning, the creature emitted a high-pitched babble, before darting forward with inhuman speed and plunging the knife into Sasha’s knee. The young sorceress cried out in pain, her eyes registered with shock at the sudden gaping wound in her knee. The devious creature cackled maniacally, pulling out the knife, earning a further cry of pain from Sasha, and prepared to strike again._

_The urge to protect her student from serious harm took over, and the ageing sorceress swirled her staff around, working as fast as she could before her apprentice suffered further injury. The diminutive creature burst into flames, briefly screaming in agony before death silenced it. Trish rushed over to the young sorceress’ aid, pulling a bottle filled with red liquid from the pouch hanging around her waist._

_“Here, drink this quickly!” Trish urged._

_Scrambling in panic, Sasha grabbed the bottle and poured the soothing liquid down her throat. The pain shooting through her leg dissipated by the second. Looking through her torn trousers, Sasha watched as her skin worked to pull itself back together, sealing the gaping wound. Glancing back up at her mentor, Sasha was dismayed to see Trish’s concerned expression having changed to a scowl, disappointment evident on every facial feature. But that was nothing compared to her tone._

_“What the hell were you thinking?!” Trish raged, her fury fully audible. “How many times do I have to repeat myself?” NEVER. EVER. UNDERESTIMATE.” Trish finished, her breathing slowing down as calm absorbed her rage at her student’s foolishness._

_Sasha’s head was bowed, her eyes staring at the ground, unable to meet her teacher’s gaze in shame. “I’m sorry, Sorceress Stratus. I…” Sasha trailed off, gulping nervously before continuing, “I acted recklessly. I have shamed myself.” Tears began to spill from the purple haired teenager’s eyes, who desperately attempted to hold back sobs, with little success._

_Trish’s expression softened. As disappointed as she was in her student, Trish was fond of the young sorceress-in-training. Despite her tendency to behave recklessly, Trish knew that Sasha held great potential. Deep down, Sasha had greatness within her. It was up to Trish to give her student the tools to live up to that potential. She put her arm around Sasha, attempting to comfort the embarrassed trainee._

_“Listen to me Sasha. You have been doing so well. You’ve advanced more quickly than any other student I have ever taught,” Trish smiled at her, her words genuine. Her smile wavered as she prepared to speak more critically. “But you have got to stop behaving recklessly. Everything I teach you; I teach to allow you to defend yourself and others in the future. But you can’t do that if you’re dead. And underestimating your foes will only lead to you getting yourself killed. You can’t save the world from an early grave.” Trish saw her words resonating with her young student, Sasha hanging onto every word. Trish’s lips curved into a grin, preparing to lighten the atmosphere and remove the tension. “And if I can’t hear of your good deeds, I won’t be stratusfied.”_

_Sasha groaned in mock disgust, used to her mentor’s tendency to use her name as a pun. Her cold shame was replaced with a warm admiration from her mentor’s inspirational words. Sasha never thought she would ever fail to be amazed by her beloved mentor._

Sasha laughed quietly to herself at the memory, careful not to draw unnecessary attention. As eager as she was to save the world, she would be lying if she said she didn’t miss her mentor. She looked forward to the day she’d return home to regale her mentor with tales of her travels.

* * *

Proceeding along the road, Sasha encountered an increasing number of zombies and Fallen, a fact she quickly took note of. She thought back to Akara’s previous warning of the cave being filled with “shadowy creatures and horrors from beyond the grave”. The increasing numbers surely meant that the Den of Evil must be close. Sasha gripped her staff tightly, preparing herself for danger.

Her suspicions were confirmed as she turned the path and glimpsed the outline of the cave’s entrance looming in the distance, a few zombies scattered around the entrance’s immediate vicinity. Taking her time to only engage one at a time from a safe distance, Sasha ensured that no creature still stood between her and her destination.

If anything gave her pause before entering the cave, it was the sight of multiple skeletons dotted around the surrounding area. A couple partially dug into the ground, one slumped against the rock of the cave’s entrance. All of them devoid of flesh or armour. Exhaling to calm herself, Sasha’s eyes flitted around the cave’s rocky exterior, observing a number of crude demonic sigils painted onto the rock. The largest of which being a black circle, with a white horned skull in the middle.

'At least I won’t have to fear their artistic abilities,' Sasha chuckled as she thought to herself. The internal jest settled her nerves, and Sasha readied herself to enter the foreboding cave, aptly named the Den of Evil.

* * *

Plunging into the cave, Sasha was initially surprised when her expectation to have to wait for her eyes to adjust to darkness did not occur. Instead the interior of the cave was illuminated by torchlight. “I suppose even demons need light to see in the darkness,” Sasha quietly muttered to herself.

Apparently her supposition was not uttered quietly enough, as she heard a loud grunt, causing her to freeze on the spot. Sasha desperately hoped that the sound would not be proven to belong to the dangerous creature that she suspected it did. Her eyes fixed to the passage ahead of her, she waited as the grunting grew louder as the creature approached. Finally her suspicions were proven to be correct, as the massive outline of a Gargantuan Beast appeared. A Wendigo sub-species, these towering beasts may not bear armour or weapons, but their size and brute strength rendered them a danger to anyone unlucky enough to cross their path. While they used to be largely peaceful creatures, the species had entered a state of perpetual frenzy since being corrupted by the Prime Evils generations ago. The intimidating sounds these beasts made while bearing down on their foes were said to strike fear into the heart of any mortal, and that was exactly what Sasha had in mind when she heard the beast utter a guttural roar, barrelling towards her with hostile intent.

Snapping quickly out of her terrified trance, Sasha fired a charged bolt at the creature, momentarily stunning it. Of course it’s thick coat of fur and gargantuan body absorbed most of the impact, which came as no surprise to Sasha. As a Sorceress she was intelligent and a quick learner, and it stood to reason that if a zombie, a much smaller creature than a Wendigo, could withstand a charged bolt before succumbing to a second one, then this Gargantuan Beast would most likely require a fair number of them before going down.

Sasha managed to fire off a couple more charged bolts of electricity before the beast began to invade her personal space. The beast attempted to swipe at her with its gigantic hands, but Sasha managed to leap backwards, avoiding being bludgeoned. Thinking quickly, Sasha managed to fire off a fourth charged bolt, and the beast let out a death scream before falling to the ground, it’s humongous body slamming into the cave floor with such impact that it caused Sasha to stumble, her hood dropping, before regaining her balance.

Breathing heavily from a mixture of exertion and fear turned into relief, Sasha wiped the perspiration from her brow before continuing down the cave passageway. The encounter had left her with a foreboding sense of evil lying in wait further inside the cavern, but she valiantly shoved away her apprehension, determined to eradicate the evil within.

A few lone Fallen and zombies crossed her path, but Sasha dispatched them with ease. It was beginning to feel like routine until the young sorceress received a shock to the system. She had felled yet another Fallen, but almost immediately the Fallen came back to life before her eyes, reinvigorated to do battle once again! Caught off-guard by the unexpected resurrection, she just barely managed to jump back to avoid a slice from the scimitar it wielded. Sending a charged bolt directly in it’s face, the Fallen slumped to the ground, dead once more.

Without wasting any time, Sasha jumped over the corpse, lest it immediately resurrect again. Scanning the area in front of her, Sasha found what she was looking for. It’s wicked teeth grinning at her, a Fallen Shaman stood, getting ready to resurrect the Fallen again. Although she knew she would not manage to kill the Shaman quickly enough to prevent it from completing his spell, she would make sure that the next time she killed the Fallen, it would stay dead.

A split second after it completed his resurrection spell, the Fallen Shaman was hit directly in the chest by two consecutive charged bolts of lightning, falling limp to the ground. Swirling around immediately with a third charged bolt at the ready, Sasha aimed her staff at the resurrected Fallen and fired, the Fallen collapsing dead for the third time in a minute.

Gasping heavily from the perilous situation, Sasha began to feel her self-confidence elevate. Before pushing on however, Sasha realised that she would need to replenish her mana reserves in order to continue to command the elemental energies that she called upon to defeat her foes. Grabbing a glass bottle from where it was safely secured in her belt, Sasha pulled out the stopper and greedily downed the blue liquid, instantly feeling her senses tingling in response. That was another thing instilled in her throughout her training with Trish: a mage must always carry as many mana potions as they can. Sasha could still recall the panic of one training session in which her mana reserves had depleted, and she had neglected to bring any mana potions with her. Fortunately, Trish had a few on hand, and gave one to the young trainee, on the condition that she never forget to pack a mana potion again. She never did.

Ready to continue, Sasha replaced the empty glass bottle secure in her belt, then walked down the dark, dank, rocky passageway. A few more kills later, Sasha paused upon hearing demonic chatter echoing in the distance. Tightly gripping her staff, Sasha padded towards the source of the noise, taking careful steps to minimise as much noise as she could. Turning a corner, Sasha spotted what she was searching for, and immediately ducked behind a collection of large rocks before her presence could be noticed. Sasha carefully peered over the rocks to assess the situation and to begin planning her next move.

Beyond her immediate location stood a horde of at least twenty Fallen, supported by multiple Shamans. Sasha felt her chest immediately tighten with fear. Her mind began to race, but inexplicably her confidence returned, replacing her fear and calming her mind enough to think straight. If she was going to clear this cave of demonic presence, she’d need to eliminate this horde of Fallen. Fear would only manage to get her killed. Pushing the fear away entirely, Sasha began to strategise. If she was going to do this, she’d have to be swift. Fallen were infamous for scattering immediately when one of their own was slain, even with overwhelming numbers. She’d be sure to use their cowardice to her advantage. The Shamans were the only issue in this scenario. The Fallen grunts might scatter, but the Shaman would stay firm and continue to resurrect the dead Fallen. She’d have to put their lights out as quickly as possible after scattering the grunts.

Emerging from behind her rock cover, Sasha readied her staff, letting the electricity build up before launching a charged electric bolt at a Fallen grunt. Just as she expected, the Fallen horde let out a collective cry of shock, scattering as soon as they saw their slain brethren. Taking advantage of the panic, Sasha managed to slay two of the three Shaman, before the third managed to resurrect the deceased grunt. Before she had time to focus on the remaining Shaman, the Fallen horde returned, converging towards her location.

'Damnit!' Sasha thought to herself. She had neglected to remember that Fallen always return after scattering, having had time to regather their wits. The sorceress did not allow this to worry her though, as another charged bolt resulted in another Fallen death, which in turn resulted in the horde scattering yet again. She fired a charged bolt at the remaining Shaman, who slumped to the ground. It hardly escaped her attention that she only needed one single bolt to kill that shaman, rather than the two she had required beforehand. She surmised that her powers and control over elemental magic had expanded with her experience, allowing her to bend them to her will with more potency.

Sasha then spent the next couple of minutes chasing each individual Fallen down, feeling more confident and reinvigorated with each one she slew. If she could defeat an entire horde of demons single-handedly, then why should any other demons in this cave trouble her? What could possibly stop her now? As far as she was concerned, with this victory she had nothing to worry about.

With this newfound adrenaline coursing through her veins, Sasha strode down the last remaining passageway, having cleared out all others. At the end of the cave, she saw a group of zombies staggering around the narrow passageway. Despite the flesh of one particular zombie radiating a blue glow, she did not think anything different of these zombies than any she’d encountered previously; a decision she’d later regret.

Striding confidently towards the zombie horde, she did not make any move to muffle her steps, nor did she consider drawing their attention one at a time. Instead, she planned to take them all on at once. After all, she had dispatched the Fallen horde with relative ease; what difference should this encounter be?

“Hey zombies!” Sasha yelled to draw their attention, “Come meet the Boss, so I can deliver you to your second death!” The zombie horde staggered towards her, all six of them coming at once. Instead of the single bolt of lightning that Sasha would usually focus on one foe, she decided to let loose a barrage of lightning bolts, each of them weaker than a single bolt, but capable of striking multiple enemies at a time. Most of the lightning bolts connected with a zombie each, momentarily stunning them. A couple of bolts had missed their targets entirely. As she had learned in her training, lightning was the least precise of all the elements.

A few waves of lightning bolts later, and all of the zombies lay unmoving, scattered around the ground in front of Sasha. That is, all except one: the zombie radiating a blue glow. Sasha smirked, believing the outcome to be inevitable. She’d fire off a single charged lighting bolt, entirely focused on this one target, and it would never threaten her or any innocent again.

At least, that was what she expected to happen. Sasha fired off a single charged lightning bolt as planned. What didn’t go to plan however, was that the zombie was only momentarily fazed by the lightning bolt slamming into its chest. It stumbled backwards before regaining its composure, continuing to lurch towards the sorceress. Sasha opened her mouth in shock, panic beginning to set in. She had had no trouble with the previous zombies, why was this one so different? Why was this not going according to plan? How could it absorb her lightning attack with minimal injury?

Her eyes flitted about the space in panic, her hands shaking as she tried to aim her staff at the unnatural zombie. She fired off another lightning bolt, her targeting unsteady, only managing to land a glancing blow. The zombie approached, stumbling closer and closer. Another shaky aim, this time her lightning bolt missed entirely, panic preventing her from being able to focus.

In the time she had been firing off her attacks, the unique zombie had closed the distance, despite its exceptionally slow moving speed. The zombie struck Sasha on the arm, and she cried out in pain. It wasn’t the physical impact of the strike that had caused her to do so. Now Sasha realised why the zombie had been radiating a blue glow. The strike had also applied an ice burn to her skin, causing a cold pain to shoot through her arm. The pain caused her to loosen her grip on her staff.

With her body subjected to ice attacks, Sasha knew that any second her body reflexes would slow down too. With the zombie preparing to strike a second time, the sorceress regained her tight grip on her staff with both hands and manoeuvred her arms to hold it horizontally. With no time to charge another lightning bolt, the best she could do was use her staff to block the zombie’s next attack to buy herself time. The decision to block the attack rather than retreating would prove to be her downfall. The zombie’s fist struck the middle of the wooden staff, a resounding crack echoing throughout the cavern as the staff split in two, its power rendered useless.

The impact of the staff splintering caused Sasha to drop to one knee, and she could only look on in horror as the monstrous zombie lurched towards her to end her life and bring her into undeath. Sasha tried to get up and run, but her body would not comply. The ice burn applied seconds earlier had now taken full effect. Her body response time slowed to a crawl, almost to the point of paralysis.

Unable to escape, and without a weapon to defend herself with, Sasha knew this was it. She was facing unwinnable odds against an opponent with lethal physical strength. This was the end: her end.

Sasha mentally cursed herself. How could she have been so stupid? In her bluster, her arrogance, her overconfidence, she had taken risks that she did not need to take. If she had stayed humble and taken more care, she wouldn’t be in her dire predicament. Her zeal to prove herself and rid the world of demons had combined with her inexperience to form a deadly result, one she no longer had any means of saving herself from. She had let herself down, and most shamefully of all, she had let Trish Stratus down, disrespecting the one person she looked up to. Now this would be it. She would die alone, miles from her family and friends, and nobody, save the Rogues, would know of her fate.

Silent tears rolling down her face, Sasha bowed her head, closed her eyes, and prepared for the killing blow.

The killing blow never came.

Her mind and senses trapped in a bubble of regret; Sasha barely registered the bellowing battle shout that echoed throughout the cavern.

Sasha opened her eyes and looked up, just in time to see a mysterious stranger charge in and engage combat with the foul zombie. The unholy creature attempted to strike, but the stranger raised her shield and blocked the incoming attack. She used this defensive tactic to go on the offensive. She sliced both of the zombie’s arms clean off in quick succession. With no arms to defend itself with, the zombie was completely vulnerable as the stranger swung her sword towards its neck, lopping off the monstrous abomination's head. The vile creature’s decapitated corpse crumbled to floor in a rotting heap.

The instant the lifeless zombie’s corpse touched the ground, the darkness throughout the cave dissipated, and white light began to shine throughout the cavern, as though some holy deed had occurred. It had seemed that the demonic presence had prevented the pre-existing spell granting light from taking effect. Only with their demise, did the spell begin working again, clearly illuminating the cave interior.

“My duty here is done,” the stranger exclaimed, a satisfied and proud tone to her voice. She turned her gaze to Sasha, and the sorceress studied the stranger’s features. She was taller than Sasha, and had her brunette hair pulled back in a side ponytail. Equipped in plate armour, she looked well protected for battle. Her dark brown eyes sparkled with concern as she looked at Sasha, looking her over before extending her hand.

Sasha glanced at the hand, then allowed her eyes to travel upwards back towards the brunette’s face, to study the stranger’s sincerity. Her lips were curved in a sympathetic smile, while her eyes were focused with concern. Satisfied with the stranger’s sincerity, Sasha reached for the hand and allowed the stranger to pull her back to her feet.

“Are you okay?” the stranger asked.

“I’m fine! What do you think you were doing?!” Sasha began to shout with rage, projecting her anger towards herself onto the stranger. “I didn’t need your help, I could’ve handled it!”

“Yeah, it sure looks like you had everything in hand!” the stranger retorted sarcastically with a chuckle, willing to fire back without any real malice behind the words, “I’m sure you were just about to rise back to your feet and magically repair your staff with your mind.”

Sasha stood, her mouth hanging open in disbelief. Most people usually stayed silent while she ran her mouth. She’d been well known within her social circle to have a short fuse. If she ever got angry enough to need to shout, most knew to wait it out and just let her run out of steam. She wasn’t used to someone firing back at her. Realising her stupid she must look, Sasha quickly shut her mouth before continuing.

“Who do you even think you are, diving in to make the save?” Sasha ranted, her eyes blazing with fury, her shame directed in full force, “I don’t need some sanctimonious stranger diving in to steal MY-“ Sasha groaned in pain, having raised her arm to punctuate her point, only to remember the ice burn that had been applied only moments ago.

“Alright, stay still and quiet while I heal you,” the stranger commanded. Sasha opted to obey, her anger dissipating while focusing on the pain shooting through her arm. The stranger shut her eyes in meditation, focused on invoking a healing prayer. A warm light began to radiate from the brunette, before transferring to the sorceress. Sasha immediately began to feel the pain seep away, before examining her previously affected skin, which now showed no evidence of any burn.

“I’m Bayley by the way, since you asked,” the stranger said, deliberately answering Sasha’s intentionally rhetorical question. “And who might you be?”

“Sasha,” the purple haired sorceress responded in a neutral tone, having calmed down since her outburst.

“Sasha, what were you doing, putting yourself in harm’s way like that? I spoke to Warriv and Akara before leaving the camp, and both seemed to believe that you were an experienced sorceress, from the way you spoke and presented yourself. Now I’m starting to believe that’s not the case.”

“I do have experience!” the sorceress shot back, quick to defend herself. Her eyebrows narrowed, her anger rising again. “I was doing just fine, I just got unlucky, that’s all.”

“Right, it was bad luck that just happened to make you take on a zombie horde at once, rather than drawing them out one at a time like an experienced lone sorceress would do?” Bayley responded with a smirk. Sasha’s hardened expression softly crumbled, any retort dying on her lips, knowing that Bayley’s playful rebuke spoke nothing but truth.

“Alright!” Sasha exclaimed; her tone shameful rather than angry this time. “I don’t have any experience, okay? All I have is my training. I thought if I came across as experienced, they’d give me a real task to prove myself, instead of starting me off with the simplest task imaginable,” Sasha admitted, shameful tears threatening to spill from her eyes. She blinked them away, unwilling to be made to look even more of a fool than she already did. “All I’ve wanted all my life is to slay demons to save others and make the world a better place. This was my chance to make an impact, and I was too eager to clear the cave, I guess I allowed my confidence to get the better of me,” Sasha finished before tilting her head to stare at the ground, her mind a mixture of emotions. Shame for herself for her reckless behaviour. Anger at Bayley for exposing her folly. Embarrassment for openly showing emotion.

“Sasha, look at me,” Bayley demanded, and Sasha complied, bracing herself for a lecture. “It’s okay. I understand,“ Bayley said softly, eager to reassure the sorceress and save her from embarrassment. “You want to save the world, that’s a very noble ideal. I have the same drive, as a Paladin in service of Westmarch.”

The purple haired sorceress relaxed her eyes upon hearing this revelation, feeling safety in Bayley’s presence. Paladins were reputed for being strong, noble warriors, fighting to protect the innocent by eradicating evil. Although Sasha was normally wary of strangers and rarely extended trust, she felt that she could trust Bayley. After all, she had saved her life and healed her wounds, so she supposed a bit of trust was only fair in exchange for those good deeds.

Bayley continued, “I get your passion. We both have the same goals. And there is no way I’m going to let you put yourself in harm’s way.”

“Really, thanks for your help Bayley, but you won’t stop me from-“

Bayley interrupted, “So that is why I insist that I accompany you on your quest to rid of the world of the foul demonic corruption that plagues it.”

For the second time in as many minutes, Sasha was gobsmacked. She expected a lecture on the folly of arrogance, not an offer for companionship. As kind and well intentioned as the offer may have been, Sasha had a chip on her shoulder, and she was determined to prove her worth all by herself.

“I don’t need a babysitter!” Sasha spat out with frustration. “I may have slipped up this once, but I-“

“Sasha,” Bayley calmly said while raising a hand to try to silence the exasperated sorceress. When Bayley was satisfied that she had Sasha’s attention, she continued, “I’m not doubting your abilities. Regardless of what happened here, you still managed to single-handedly clear out the Den of Evil of Fallen, Gargantuan Beasts, and most of the zombies. That’s something I applaud you for.” Bayley paused to look into Sasha’s eyes, making it clear to the sorceress that she did not think any less of her for needing to be saved. “I came to the Den of Evil to clear it of demonic corruption too. It’s lucky I got here just in time. It just seems to me that you could use a protector at times. And since our goals align, it makes sense for us to band together against the evil in this land, to save as many innocents as we can. Now, are you going to accept that I’m here to help, or do I have to convince you further?”

Sasha exhaled in defeat, the paladin’s words having worn down her stubborn mask of self-reliance. “Okay. I guess you can come with. I might not be the easiest person to get along with, but-“

Sasha’s words died as the paladin closed the distance between them and wrapped the purple-haired sorceress in a bone-crushing hug, the emotionally distant sorceress feeling suffocated by the open display of affection.

“Okay, seriously Bayley, I appreciate that you’re here to help, but let go of me.”

The brunette released her grip on the sorceress, grinning from ear to ear. “Sorry, I’m a hugger.”

“Well, you can save those hugs for anyone who’s not me.”

“Ouch,” the paladin exclaimed in mock hurt. “Somebody didn’t get enough hugs as a child!”

“Yeah, and I don’t need any now either,” Sasha retorted. Although she was not outwardly smiling, she was grinning internally, secretly happy to have made a friend.

“In all seriousness, you should pick up your staff fragments. When we get back to camp, we can visit the blacksmith.” Sasha nodded at Bayley’s suggestion. She didn’t have enough gold to buy a new staff, so she’d have to see if she could get her broken one fixed.

* * *

The two chatted amicably on their way back to the Rogue Encampment. While Bayley had no qualms outwardly showing her delight to accompany the sorceress, Sasha remained reserved. On the inside, she too was delighted to have some company. If her near-death experience proved anything, it’s that she wouldn’t last long alone. She’d need someone with her to keep her alive in tricky situations, and to reign her confidence in, lest it manifest as arrogance again.

Instead of heading to the eastern side of the encampment to report their success to Akara, the pair headed towards the western side, where the blacksmith resided. Upon approaching the forge, they took note of the blacksmith. A stocky woman, with her orange hair pulled back to avoid being a nuisance while she worked. Looking up from the anvil she was currently toiling away at, she smiled sweetly at the two upon noticing their approach.

“Hi there! I’m Charsi, the blacksmith here in camp. It’s good to see some strong adventurers around here!” the blacksmith said, her tone cheerful.

“Great to meet you!” Bayley responded, her tone equally cheerful. “I’m Bayley, and this is my friend Sasha.” Sasha cringed internally at the mention of “friend”. They had only just met, and she was already being referred to as a friend? This both irritated and bemused Sasha. Stuck in her thoughts, Sasha didn’t realise that the other two were waiting for her to speak until Bayley softly nudged her with her elbow.

“Huh? Oh sorry, I was just thinking,” Sasha explained.

“Bayley tells me you need something fixing?” Charsi questioned.

“Oh, yeah. My staff was cloven in two, and I need it fixing,” Sasha answered, holding up both ends of the staff for Charsi to assess the damage.

“I see. That should be no trouble. Come back in five minutes, and I should have it good as new for you.”

Charsi and Sasha discussed payment, before Bayley and Sasha walked off in the direction of Akara’s tent to report their success to the High Priestess. Before they reached their destination, they were stopped by Kashya.

“Hmm,” the commander murmured, her gaze directed more at Sasha than Bayley. “I’m surprised you survived that test, outlander. Go see Akara. She may reward you.” Kashya strode away, leaving Sasha fuming at the continuation of disrespect, having felt in her mind that clearing the Den of Evil would be enough to win her respect.

“What was that about?” Bayley asked Sasha as they continued towards Akara.

“Nothing. Sooner or later, my actions will give her no choice but to respect me.” Sasha hoped that her words would prove true. She didn’t know how much longer she could be treated with contempt before snapping.

The anger had worn off by the time by the time they reached Akara, the High Priestess waiting for them.

“I sense that you have cleansed the Den of Evil. You’ve earned my trust, and may yet restore my faith in humanity,” Akara stated proudly, congratulating the pair. “Your reward is training in the skill of your choice.”

Akara handed a book to each of the two. Each book contained knowledge for the two young adventurers to improve their skills. Bayley’s book was a tome for Paladins, while Sasha’s was a tome for Sorceresses. The two devoured the contents eagerly. Bayley learned how to radiate an aura to reflect damage back at their attackers, while Sasha learned how to conjure a static field to injure her foes. They thanked Akara for their newfound knowledge, and made their way back to the forge to pick up Sasha’s reforged staff.

They were in the midst of thanking Charsi and paying for her services, when the previously cold and militant commander approached them, a mixture of fury, fear, and disgust tainting her features.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! Thank you for sticking with this first chapter all the way to the end! If you had any problems with it, then please don't hesitate to leave constructive criticism in the comments. I've not written too many novels in the past, so I don't mind admitting that I'm learning as I go.


	2. Sisters' Burial Grounds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Having cleared the Den of Evil, Sasha and Bayley accept another quest from Kashya, the Rogue commander. This time they must journey to the Burial Grounds to defeat a corrupted Rogue raising the dead into a zombie army. Will the sorceress and the paladin be able to accomplish their task, or will taking on a formidable demon Rogue and her zombie army be too much for the two to handle?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! Second chapter in just under a week! I don't expect to finish chapters on a schedule, but I'm glad that I was able to finish this chapter so soon (don't worry, quality isn't sacrificed, quite the opposite I think). Having taken feedback from the comments for the first chapter, I think this chapter is an improvement. Let me know in the comments at the end if you agree.

Sasha and Bayley stood rooted to the spot, waiting for the commander to begin speaking, who was clearly on edge.

“My Rogue scouts have just reported an abomination in the Monastery graveyard!” Kashya exclaimed, her tone one of outrage. “Apparently, Andariel is not content to take only our living,” Kashya continued, referencing the demoness commanding the foul demons rampaging throughout the nearby lands. “Blood Raven, one of our finest captains in the battle against Diablo at Tristram, was also one of the first to be corrupted by Andariel. Now, you’ll find her in the Monastery graveyard raising our dead as zombies!” Although Kashya was a battle-hardened commander and took no fear in engaging her foes in combat, the very thought of her fallen sisters being raised into unholy abominations to strike back at their former sisters made her stomach turn. “We cannot abide this defilement! If you are truly our allies, you will help us destroy her!”

Sasha and Bayley turned to each other, and both nodded at the other to communicate their mutual agreement. They turned back to Kashya, the seconds since she finished speaking doing nothing to quell her rage. Sasha was the first to speak, her want to prove herself making her determined to make up for her previous act of reckless, stupid behaviour. “Kashya, we will defeat your corrupted sister,” Sasha’s expression remained resolute, “We promise you; we’ll show you what we’re capable of,” Sasha finished, an unconscious smirk crossing her lips at the thought of finally earning Kashya’s respect.

Kashya was not pleased at the selfish behaviour on the part of Sasha Banks. “You think showing off your magical abilities will earn my respect?” Kashya asked, fury threatening to take over her once again. Having realised her mistake by speaking with minimal tact, Sasha resigned herself to silence while Kashya ranted on. Her volume increasing with every word, several of the Rogues nearby turned to watch the heated exchange. “You think I really care about all the magical lights you can make dance around?” Kashya continued, her tone condescending, taking pleasure in rebuking the self-centred sorceress. “No, what will earn my respect is results. You do what I tell you to do, and you’ll have my respect. I couldn’t care less how you do it. Just kill Blood Raven!” Kashya finished, stabbing her fingers in Sasha’s direction while speaking.

“It’s okay Kashya, my friend is just a little eager, that’s all,” Bayley intervened, taking on a friendly tone to calm down the furious commander. “She means well. What she meant to say was; we will take down Blood Raven and end this defiling of your sisters’ remains.” Satisfied with Bayley’s sincerity, Kashya huffed and turned to leave before Bayley’s next question required an answer. “Is there anything else we should know before we set out?”

Kashya turned back on her heel, ready to deliver a warning to the adventurers. “Death has done nothing to weaken Blood Raven’s combat skills,” Kashya warned, her arms crossed and her expression stony to indicate the serious nature of her warning, “if anything, she’s more deadly than ever.”

Bayley nodded with understanding as the Rogue commander turned and strode away back towards the centre of the camp. Bayley turned to Sasha, who was still silently fuming following Kashya’s public humiliation. They had momentarily forgotten Charsi, still stood at the forge behind them, who made her presence known.

“I wouldn’t take her words too personally if I were you,” the redheaded blacksmith said, trying to console the furious sorceress. The two adventurers turned to look at her, Sasha meeting the blacksmith’s kind eyes. “She’s curt with anyone who she feels hasn’t yet proven their worth. Once you earn her trust, you’ll find that she’s fantastic, and a lot less stubborn.” Charsi shot a compassionate smile at the sorceress, seeking to reassure her. “Sure, she’s a little hard on outsiders, but who can blame her? All she wants is to protect our order. But now that our sisters have turned against us, I think all this mess has hardened her heart.”

Bayley glanced at Sasha, privately thinking that she and Kashya were a little alike. In the short time that she’d known her, Bayley had realised that the purple haired sorceress maintained trust issues, but knew that deep down there was a good person waiting. Unbeknownst to her, Sasha was thinking the same thing, simultaneously admiring Kashya’s impenetrable guard, while also desperate to earn her respect and still angry over the public rebuke. Having been trained in the ways that demons and dubious people utilised deceit to achieve nefarious purposes, Sasha knew how important it was to not freely give away trust. That didn’t make it easier when she was unfairly on the receiving end.

“I hope you’re right. She’s making this more difficult than it needs to be,” Sasha said through gritted teeth, “Sooner or later, I’ll show her.”

Allowing Sasha a moment to stew and allow her anger to dissipate, a process hopefully sped up by Charsi’s reassurance, Bayley decided to see what further information she could glean out of the cheerful blacksmith. “How powerful are these fallen Rogues that Blood Raven is raising from the dead?”

“Many of our sisters fought bravely against Diablo when he first attacked the town of Tristram,” Charsi responded, her tone containing slightly less cheer when discussing grave matters, “They came back to us true veterans, bearing some really powerful items. Seems like their victory was short-lived though, most of them are now corrupted by Andariel. Blood Raven was their leader, and now she’s raising her fallen soldiers into an unholy band of undead, serving the demonic influence she fought against.”

The normally friendly visage of the blacksmith had since deteriorated into one of grief upon recounting recent events. She took a remorseful breath before finishing her story, “Akara felt something was wrong even before Andariel descended upon us. She feared that Blood Raven had stumbled upon some evil force beneath Tristram. I wish we had acted then…” Charsi trailed off and let her eyes wander, giving time for the kindly paladin and now calm sorceress to consider the implications.

“Don’t worry Charsi,” the paladin said with a slight smile to indicate her sympathy, “it’s no use reflecting on the past. You couldn’t have known the extent of Blood Raven’s corruption. What matters is that we’re here to help, and it’s time for us to act now.” Bayley turned to her companion; who’s expression had stiffened into one of determination. “Are you ready to go?”

“Am I ready to satisfy my passion for putting down evil?” Sasha replied, pausing before breaking into a grin. “Of course I am!”

* * *

The pair crossed the Blood Moor with little incident, dispatching any Fallen, Zombie, or Quill Rat that crossed their path. Bayley noticed that Sasha had stayed mostly quiet on their journey so far. Sensing that something was on her mind, Bayley voiced her concern for her new friend, “Sasha, are you okay?”

The silent sorceress paused in her tracks, furrowing her brow before breaking her silence. “Of course, why do you ask?”

“You’ve barely said a word since we left the Rogue Encampment. I might not have known you for long, but I think I can tell that something is bothering you.”

Sasha scowled, displeased by how perceptive her new companion was, despite how strong she tried to keep her emotional walls. Ensuring to not give anything away, her scowl was replaced by a neutral expression almost as soon as it appeared. “Trust me, nothing is bothering me.”

“Really?” Bayley questioned with a smirk, “Then maybe someone should tell your face?”

“Keep it up, and you’ll experience first-hand when happens when somebody bothers me.” Sasha retorted, her expression one of mock challenge.

“Easy Miss Bossy, save that aggression for Blood Raven,” Bayley chuckled. The two resumed their walking, and Sasha turned away from Bayley to hide her smile at her new friend’s jest.

Walking past the now purified Den of Evil, the pair thought back to their meeting in the cave just an hour ago, in which Sasha allowed her confidence to turn to arrogance, biting off more than she could chew. Bayley thought back to her arrival in the Rogue Encampment before setting off to aid the sorceress that Akara had spoken of.

_With the rain beginning to subside, Bayley thanked the light that her hair couldn’t get any wetter. Wringing out her side ponytail with her hands, Bayley squeezed as much rainwater as she could out of her hair. One of these days, she must remember to purchase a helm. Not only would it protect her in battle, but most importantly, she thought to herself with a chuckle, it would protect her from poor weather._

_Approaching the Rogue Encampment, she put away her buckler and sword, not wanting to appear a threat to the Rogues she had travelled this way to aid. The Rogues stationed at the entrance granted her entry, giving her the benefit of the doubt. Clearly her appearance had been enough to make her look trustworthy._

_Spotting a stern looking woman with an orange cape draped around her head and down her back, Bayley approached her._

_“Hi there! I’m Bayley, a Paladin from the Knights of-“ Bayley was interrupted before she could finish her sentence._

_“You don’t have to explain to me. What do you take me for, a fool?” Kashya interrupted, clearly offended, “Your insignia is right there!” Kashya pointed at the insignia in Bayley’s breastplate. “I’ve been commanding the Rogues for a long time, I know the various orders throughout the Western Kingdoms”._

_“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you.” Bayley responded sheepishly. She wasn’t used to being greeted so coldly. Normally her jovial personality invited others to respond in kind._

_“You think a young paladin like yourself could offend me so?” Kashya questioned, her temper lowering with Bayley’s apology. “The only things that offend me are the demons rampaging through our lands.” Kashya’s eyebrows narrowed in anger, the demonic infestation that forced the Rogues out of their Monastery still bothered her greatly. “So what do you want?”_

_“Well actually that’s what I’ve come here to help you with.” Bayley piped up, eager to not get on the bad side of the Rogue commander. “I’ve heard about recent events, and I want to help clear the lands of the foul creatures that plague it._

_Kashya scoffed. The smiling paladin in front of her didn’t look like she was up to the task. “Two adventurers in one day, huh? Aren’t we the lucky ones?” Kashya asked, her tone dripping with sarcasm._

_“What do you mean?” Bayley asked._

_“A couple of hours ago, a sorceress arrived here, she too claiming to want to help us.” Kashya responded, before a smirk crossed her features. “So Akara, our High Priestess, sent her to go clear the Den of Evil.”_

_“And what’s so funny about that?” Bayley asked, noticing the smirk that didn’t match the commander’s words._

_“Forgive my cynicism, but many of my Rogues have fallen in that cave. If the young sorceress thinks she can succeed where my battle-hardened Rogues failed, she’s in over her head.” Although the Rogue commander was not a malicious woman, she didn’t trust the smugness that the sorceress was full of. “I’d say she’s got a 50-50 chance of escaping that cave with her life. Certainly no chance of her clearing it alone!” Kashya continued, her cynical side on full display. “If you want to increase her odds of survival, then I’d leave now if I were you. I’d go talk to our Akara, our High Priestess, beforehand though. She’s sure to have some sound guidance to help you,” Kashya advised._

_On her way to Akara, Bayley surveyed the camp. In the distance, standing outside a tent which looked like it had been fashioned into a rudimentary shop, was a man clutching his lapels, wearing a yellow overcoat. He looked shifty, Bayley thought. On the same side of the camp, she spotted a forge, with a redheaded stocky woman clanging a hammer on an anvil. Even from a distance, she could still see the smile on the blacksmith’s face. She looked friendly, Bayley looked forward to meeting her. In the middle of the camp stood a fire, roaring back into life now that the rain had stopped. Next to the campfire stood a caravan. A man stood from where he had been crouched, fixing one of the caravan’s wheels, and he strode to warm his hands on the fire. Like the blacksmith, he had a welcoming face._

_The paladin walked over to the elderly woman she presumed to be Akara, with a presence about her that screamed wisdom. Her purple hood still clinging to her head, despite the rain having stopped, she looked at Bayley with curiosity as she approached._

_“Akara, I presume?” Bayley questioned. The priestess nodded without a word, seeming to sense Bayley’s urgency. “I’m sorry if I appear rude without proper introductions, but time is short. I’m Bayley, a Paladin from the Knights of Westmarch, and I’ve heard about the sorceress who departed for the Den of Evil a short time ago.” Bayley stopped to pause for breath. “I wonder if there’s anything you could tell me which could prove useful before I set out to help her?”_

_“I sense that you have a noble heart young one, and so I trust you to find her and aid her against the foul creatures in that terrible place.” Akara responded, giving Bayley her approval. Akara closed her eyes, as though deep in meditation. “I sense that she still lives.” Akara stated, her eyes still closed in concentration. “Though I also sense that time grows short. She is on a collision course with danger, and she will need help if she is to survive the horrors within the cave.” Akara opened her eyes, and gazed deep into Bayley’s eyes. “You must leave immediately if the purple-haired young sorceress is to survive.”_

_Bayley gulped, the time-sensitive task cemented into her brain, while also absorbing the fact that the High Priestess had just divulged useful information about the sorceress’ appearance to help her in her search. “Thank you, I’ll be on my way.”_

_Bayley was about to exit the camp when the welcoming man from the caravan she had spotted earlier approached her. “Well met noble Paladin!” the stranger wearing a blue tunic greeted. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen any of your kind in the west.” Bayley half-listened, impatience crossing her features. She didn’t have time to stop and chat, she had a sorceress to save. “My name is Warriv, and it would be an honour to aid you in any way that I can.”_

_As much of a hurry as she was in, Bayley’s friendly nature couldn’t let her impatience translate to rudeness. She could manage a few words. “Hi Warriv, I’m Bayley.” Bayley paused before settling on the important question she had to ask. “I’m sorry that I don’t have time to stay and chat, but there is something I need to know. Did you see a young sorceress around here a couple of hours ago? She had purple hair.” Bayley said, sharing every detail she had._

_“As a matter of fact I did, we had an amicable conversation,” Warriv answered, “She seemed to have a confidence about her that insinuated experience, despite her youthful appearance.”_

_“Thank you Warriv. As much as I would love to talk to you some more, I’m afraid I have to go now if I am to save her.” Without waiting for a response, Bayley turned and ran out of the encampment, in a hurry to save the sorceress._

Sasha turned to Bayley, aware that she had not properly showed her gratitude towards the paladin. “Bayley,” she started, waiting until she was satisfied she had the brunette’s full attention, “I just wanted to say thank you for saving my life in that cave.”

“Ah, don’t worry about it,” the paladin responded dismissively, as though her actions were nothing.

“No, I’m serious,” the sorceress replied, her expression matching her words. “If you hadn’t come to my rescue, I wouldn’t still be here, on the way to defeat more evil.”

“You’re welcome,” Bayley said, allowing a moment of seriousness before lightening up the situation, “If all doesn’t go to plan with Blood Raven and I find myself in harm’s way, then you can come to MY rescue,” Bayley smiled at her companion, and Sasha found it impossible to resist the urge to smile back.

* * *

A short walk later, and the pair reached the border of the Blood Moor. Ahead, they spotted a Rogue stationed on the path that led to the Cold Plains. She was wearing brown leather armour, and stood in a defensive position with an arrow nocked to her bow. Sasha let her personable friend do the talking.

“Greetings!” Bayley called out.

“You don’t look like Rogues,” the Rogue replied. “I’m Flavie, I presume you two must be travellers. In which case I advise you to stay on the path, and if you see a zombie-“

Bayley cut Flavie off in the middle of her warning, wanting to save time by explaining their situation, “We’re not travellers, we’re adventurers come to help remove the evil in these lands.”

“Ah, my apologies, we don’t get many adventurers stay long enough before taking off,” Flavie said in apology. Before talking further, she aimed her bow at an approaching zombie and fired, the arrow hitting the undead right in the eye, causing it to stumble before falling and slamming it’s back on a nearby rock, causing it to lay limp in permanent death.

“We’ve been tasked with journeying to the burial grounds and eliminating Blood Raven,” Bayley stated, seeking the experienced Rogue’s aid, given her knowledge of the lands, “What direction should we head in?”

“Follow the path until you reach a fork,” Flavie responded helpfully, “then take a right.”

“Thank you,” Bayley replied sincerely, smiling in gratitude for the directions.

“Good luck! I really hope you manage to defeat her; her growing horde is starting to become a serious danger for the camp,” Flavie said genuinely, before giving a warning, “Take care! The corrupted Rogues in the wilderness ahead are not to be trifled with.”

Bayley and Sasha bid Flavie farewell with a grateful nod for her advice before continuing on. Soon after entering the Cold Plains, they discovered a strange structure constructed on the ground. It was a square of dirt in the middle of a green field, with none of the grass threatening to spill over onto the square. Etched into the dirt was a circle in the centre, with a horizontal and a vertical line intersecting in the middle. At the ends of the vertical line sat two twin braziers, both dormant. As they approached the bizarre, obviously artificial, patch of dirt, both braziers erupted with blue flames.

“What on Sanctuary?” Bayley murmured aloud.

Sasha gasped, “I know what that is!” Sasha bounced lightly on her toes, excited to share her knowledge. “That’s a waypoint! Constructed by the Horadrim, they can be used transport the user, provided they have become attuned to the waypoint they wish to travel to,” Sasha beamed. She loved showing off. “I believe I spotted one back at the Rogue Encampment. Now we don’t have to waste time walking back through the Blood Moor when we’re done killing Blood Raven.”

Bayley couldn’t help but smile at the sorceress; her passion was infectious. “So, the Horadrim built these?”

“Yep! I studied them during my training. The world would be much safer if they were still around,” Sasha pontificated.

“Indeed,” Bayley agreed. From what little she knew about the Horadrim, she knew that they were an ancient, incredibly powerful order of mages formed by the Archangel of Justice, Tyrael, to combat the three Prime Evils on Sanctuary after they were exiled from Hell. “You must know a lot about them then, huh?” Bayley asked.

“Yeah, any worthy mage must be knowledgeable about the greatest mage order in history,” Sasha answered, “They were all incredibly potent mages. Tal Rasha, Jered Cain, and my personal hero, Eddie Guerrero,” Sasha beamed after mentioning her hero, as she always did. “Most of the Horadrim were said to be too prideful, but not Eddie. Unlike his brethren, he never took himself too seriously. There are plenty of stories of him lying, cheating, and stealing to accomplish his tasks. Petty crimes, but he always evaded imprisonment through his natural charm,” Sasha finished, although Bayley could tell that she’d happily go on talking about her idol for hours if she let her. Unfortunately, they didn’t have time for that, especially out here in the wilderness. Out here, they were exposed, with all manner of evil creatures prowling the Cold Plains; a fact which became blindly obvious to the pair after hearing rustling and footsteps in the distance.

“Did you hear that?” Bayley asked the sorceress. Sasha nodded in confirmation, unwilling to answer verbally to draw further attention to themselves. Seconds later, they were beholden to a terrifying sight, as a band of four corrupted Rogues marched into view. Two of them wielded swords, one a wicked spear, the other a bow. All had bone-white skin, and all bore demonic grins upon seeing the two adventurers.

Gripping their weapons, the paladin and sorceress prepared themselves for a battle. Although they were outnumbered, they were confident in their abilities and dangerous though these demonic former Rogues may be, they were no match.

Wasting no time, Sasha charged her newly repaired staff. Five bolts of electricity exploded from the tip of her staff, hurtling in the direction of the corrupted Rogues. One struck one of the swordswomen, who convulsed with electric shock before emitting a death screech. To their shock, a blue-tinged, ghostly outline of the now dead Rogue emerged from her corpse, travelling upwards before disappearing. Hypothesising that the Rogue’s spirit was now free, Sasha focused her mind on freeing the rest of the corrupted Rogues’ tortured souls.

A metal clang sounded as Bayley used her shield to block the incoming strike from the other swordswoman. Without wasting a second, Bayley thrust the tip of her sword towards the remaining corrupted Rogue swordswoman. Without a shield to protect her, the Rogue was defenceless against Bayley’s attack. Much like her sister, she fell dead to the ground, her spirit rising from her corpse.

That left an even playing field, with two corrupted Rogues remaining against the paladin and the sorceress. Sasha dodged out of the way and gasped, narrowly avoiding an arrow launched by the archer. Sasha aimed her staff and launched an electric bolt at the archer in retaliation, ending her life and freeing her spirit. That left one.

Bayley stabbed towards the spearwoman, who blocked the blow with the shaft of her spear. The demonic spearwoman pushed forward with as much strength as could muster. The unexpected push caused Bayley to lose her balance, her momentum causing her to trip backwards over a rock. Bayley’s sword and shield flew out of her hands as she fell, leaving her defenceless. The corrupted ex-Rogue grinned devilishly, savouring every second of seeing her prey so vulnerable. She pulled her arm back, ready to skewer Bayley.

Before Bayley could roll out of the way, the spearwoman convulsed as electricity passed through her body, which crumpled to the floor as her spirit was released. Standing triumphantly, her staff planted into the ground, was Sasha Banks.

“Hmm, now where have I seen this before?” Sasha smirked, tapping her finger on her chin, pretending to think hard before extending her hand to help Bayley up. Bayley accepted the hand, allowing Sasha to pull her back to her feet.

“Very funny, well played Miss Banks” Bayley chuckled, dusting herself off and retrieving her sword and shield. Sasha grinned back, mostly as acknowledgement for Bayley’s appreciation for her jest, but also for the nickname. Sasha wasn’t used to being referred to by nicknames, but she was warming to the terms of endearment that Bayley had used so far. It made her heart swell with pride, knowing that somebody cared enough to spend time thinking up an epithet for her. It was strange thinking about how much they had bonded in just a couple of hours, almost as if they were two missing pieces of a puzzle which complemented each other perfectly, just waiting to connect to complete it.

* * *

It didn’t take the two friends too long to reach the fork which Flavie had spoken of. No sooner were they about to head the directions given to them when they heard the unmistakable roar of a Gargantuan Beast. Upon seeing the intimidating beast stampeding towards them, they quickly drew up a battle plan.

“Fire your lightning bolts at it as soon as you can,” Bayley urged, “as soon as it gets too close, I’ll engage it as a distraction.”

“Got it,” Sasha assured her. Without missing a step, she pointed her staff at the rapidly approaching beast, focusing her mind, before releasing a flurry of vivid, dancing lightning bolts. Due to the massive size of the beast, two of the five lightning bolts slammed into the creature, stunning it momentarily as it convulsed before resuming its intimidating advance. The monstrous beast was too quick for a second volley before closing in, and so as per her plan, Bayley engaged the creature in combat. The beast pulled back a massive fist, aiming it at the paladin’s head. Bayley got her shield up in time, and the beast roared in pain after its fist punched the metal with a sickening crack.

“Hey, you dented my shield!” Bayley shouted at the beast in mock anger. Sasha smiled as she focused on charging a second lightning strike. Even in the heat of battle, Bayley always had something to say to lighten the mood and ease the tension. The sorceress aimed her staff at the beast. Although normally she attacked by unleashing multiple bolts of lightning, in this situation she couldn’t do so, lest she risk the bolts electrocuting Bayley. Having focused her energies into one single piercing rod of lightning, her mind commanded the elemental energies to release, blasting the streak of light out of her staff at lightning speed. The creature roared in pain as the lightning attack struck, piercing through its fur, creating a clear hole in its skin. The creature flailed its arms as it fell, emitting a death roar. The two adventurers took this opportunity for a short reprieve.

“Nice work,” Bayley panted, having exerted herself blocking the creature’s blows.

“Thanks, you too,” Sasha gasped in response, she too requiring a moment to recover from the mental concentration needed to command the elements.

“I’d say we make a pretty good team,” Bayley observed, smiling at her teammate.

“Well we’ll need to if we’re to defeat Blood Raven,” Sasha agreed, reminding her companion of the task at hand.

“Hey, how hard can it be to defeat one lone Rogue, even if she is corrupted?” Bayley countered.

“She was part of the group that defeated Diablo,” Sasha reminded, careful to not underestimate another foe following her embarrassment in the Den of Evil, “anyone who can take down the Lord of Terror is obviously formidable, and definitely not to be underestimated.”

“You’re right,” Bayley said, her breathing by now having evened out again. “You ready to get going?”

“Sure,” Sasha replied.

* * *

Ten minutes later, the pair approached the border of the Cold Plains, the gates leading to the Burial Grounds ahead of them. The paladin and the sorceress stopped to collect themselves before heading into what was sure to be a difficult, potentially lethal, battle.

“So, you first,” Sasha teased to keep the mood light, fear making her voice quiver slightly.

“Why do I have to go first?” Bayley questioned, her tone also light.

“Did you or did you not volunteer to be my protector?” Sasha reminded Bayley with a smirk.

“Oh, I see how it is!” Bayley laughed.

“Besides, you’re the one with a shield,” Sasha pointed out, “how am I supposed to protect myself with a staff if they get up close?”

“Uhh, parry it?” Bayley countered, “duh, dude!” Bayley exclaimed.

“Whatever,” Sasha replied dismissively before smirking, “just don’t try to hug Blood Raven, and I think we’ll be okay.”

“Okay, I won’t try to give her a hug, so long as you don’t try to take on her whole army at once, deal?” Bayley fired back, evidently happy to dish out as good as she got.

The pair laughed together at their quips. The joking around had greatly lightened the mood, though both were still sharply focused on the imminent battle. Even as laser-focused as they were, both were acutely aware of the danger before them. They both knew that there was a good chance that they would not survive this, given the prowess of Blood Raven. That’s why it was so important for the both of them to joke around, in case they wouldn’t get the chance to enjoy each other’s company again.

“Wait!” a voice shouted from behind the pair. They turned to see a woman running to catch up with them. Tall, well-built, long blonde hair flowing, clutching a fearsome spear in one hand and a shield in the other, she certainly looked intimidating. She was an Amazon in every sense of the word; not only because of the connotations, but there was no mistake, her physical appearance clearly meant that she was a powerful female warrior of the Askari.

“Who are you?” Bayley asked as the Amazon caught up to them and caught her breath.

“I am Charlotte Flair, of the Askari,” she announced, confirming their suspicion.

“What do you want?” Sasha questioned, her tone not as inviting as Bayley’s. Charlotte had a friendly expression on her face, but her poise suggested an air of superiority which the sorceress immediately disliked.

“If you have come here, I assume you’re here to kill Blood Raven?” Charlotte answered Sasha’s question with another question.

“Yeah, what’s it to you?” Sasha fired back, Bayley nudging her with her elbow to rebuke her hostility.

Ignoring the purple haired sorceress’ animosity, Charlotte answered, “I feel I must warn you about how formidable Blood Raven is. I tried to take her on single-handedly, and I barely escaped with my life,” she warned.

“Yeah, don’t you think we’d have done our research before setting out to take her down?” Sasha asked with anger coating her tone, clearly offended by Charlotte’s advice. “There’s nothing you can say to dissuade us, one way or another we’re going to- “

“Oh no, I didn’t stop you to talk you out of it,” the blonde interrupted, “I stopped you to insist that I join you. I failed to stop her alone. If you’re going to take her on, you’re going to need all the help you can get, if you’re to succeed,” Charlotte reasoned.

Sasha opened her mouth to object, but Bayley managed to respond before the sorceress could get a word out, “We’d be happy to accept your aid, Charlotte.” Bayley smiled at the amazon, in stark contrast to the glare Sasha was giving her.

If Sasha’s glare fazed her, Charlotte didn’t show it, smiling back at Bayley as a silent thank you. The three strode onward, Bayley moving between Charlotte and Sasha to avoid Sasha’s temper flaring. Bayley knew of Sasha’s trust issues, but there was simply no time to explore them right now. Right now, they had a job to do. And that job was to put down Blood Raven.

* * *

Bayley pushed the large metal gates open, a menacing creak sounding. The gate was clearly in a state of disrepair, as some sections of the old, weathered gate crashed to the ground upon opening it. Upon entering the graveyard, the brunette paladin creased her face in disgust at the sight of holes in the ground of the graves closest to the gates. “This holy place has been desecrated,” she grimaced.

“There is dark magic at work here,” Sasha agreed, sensing the bitter tang of necromancy in the air.

“I sense great sorrow and misery,” Charlotte chimed in. Sasha huffed, clearly not happy that Charlotte had gotten the last word in, her competitive nature extending to conversation.

The trio proceeded through the burial grounds. The grounds had clearly not been tended to for a while, with the grass overgrown. It hardly escaped their attention that most of the graves had been disturbed, just like the ones near the entrance, with holes in the ground where the caskets lay. Given the prevalence of zombies in their adventures so far, the three were on their guard for the graves’ former occupants to ambush them. With so much disturbance, yet no one in sight, it felt like they were walking into a trap.

They reached the centre of the burial grounds, a large, dead tree. That wasn’t the most startling thing about it though. What really caught Charlotte, Bayley and Sasha’s attention were the two Rogue corpses hanging from its branches, like grotesque fruit. With the ropes around their necks, they were truly a macabre sight, one which caused all three women to recoil in disgust. Long dead, the trio surmised that they were two of Blood Raven’s followers who refused to join their leader in corrupted service to demons.

As if on cue, a woman emerged from behind the tree, where she’d been hidden from view by its large trunk. Dressed in bone white armour, with blood red boots and wearing a horned helm to cover her head, she looked fearsome. Wielding a bow with arrows already nocked, they would have to be careful. This surely had to be Blood Raven.

Speaking in an echoing, demonically enhanced voice, as though one had altered her voice using technology, Blood Raven announced, “My army will destroy you!”

On cue, a multitude of zombies poured out of the adjacent Mausoleum and Crypt buildings. The swarm of zombies stumbled towards the trio. An arrow whistled past Sasha’s head, who had dodged out of the way just in time. That made things even more deadly. Not only did they have a horde of zombies to contend with, but they also had Blood Raven firing arrows at them with deadly speed. The zombies approached the adventurers just as Blood Raven fired another shot, this time at Bayley, who got her shield up in time to block the arrow.

The three women knew they wouldn’t last long if they had zombies approaching them from the front, and Blood Raven firing arrows at them from the side. Taking a second to look into each other’s eyes, they silently acknowledged the unspoken mental suggestion between them to reposition themselves. They did so, causing Blood Raven to howl in frustration. With the zombies standing in between Blood Raven and her prey, the demonic Rogue could not shoot at the trio without striking down her own zombies instead. With lightning speed, Blood Raven dashed to reposition herself to rectify the issue. This was not lost on Bayley, Charlotte and Sasha, who moved to counteract Blood Raven’s repositioning. As this continued, the zombie army closed in on the pair. Having run out of time to reposition themselves, the adventurers had no choice but to focus on the foul zombies, while simultaneously feinting to avoid Blood Raven’s arrows.

Bayley hacked away at the zombies with her sword, severing multiple limbs in the process. Charlotte thrust her spear to pierce the undead surrounding her, while Sasha emitted several bolts of lightning from her staff towards the zombies not immediately surrounding the other two. While the zombies were numerous, they were relatively weak, only able to use their decaying fists as weapons. This left them defenceless against the sharp blade of Bayley’s sword, the piercing end of Charlotte’s spear, and Sasha’s electrifying lightning attacks. As a result, the rapidly diminishing vast army of the dead continued to drop like flies against the adventurer’s attacks.

Sasha was about to release another volley of lightning bolts, when she was forced to halt her concentration and move her staff to parry the arrow which Blood Raven had fired at her. Growling at the sight of her zombie army’s numbers thinning, Blood Raven ceased her ranged attacks, and moved her arms to conjure a necromantic spell.

The remaining graves standing untouched were about to be so no longer. The ground trembled from the power of Blood Raven’s necromantic magic, and scores of zombies burst out of the ground, much to the horror of the amazon, the sorceress and the paladin. The zombies emerging from the mausoleum and the crypt earlier were manageable because they all came from one direction. This new batch of zombies came from all possible directions around the three. They surrounded the adventurers in a circular fashion, with no gap for them to escape. As proficient as Bayley and Sasha were, they would be no match for the army surrounding them. With the newly emerged zombies and the remaining zombie army that started the battle combined, their numbers neared triple digits. Against three adventurers, those were odds which had no chance of survival.

Bayley, Charlotte and Sasha stood back to back, eyes darting around them at the walking corpses stumbling closer menacingly. They wielded their weapons in a defensive stance.

“I guess this is it?” Sasha questioned, her tone one of panic.

“I guess so. I don’t see a way out of this,” Bayley answered, fear creeping into her voice.

“I know we’ve only known each other for a couple hours,” Sasha stated, clearly directed only at Bayley, her voice one of acceptance of her fate, “but I’m glad to have fought with you.” Although her words were directed at the paladin to the side of her, she kept her eyes focused on the zombies coming to end her life. “Thank you for giving me a couple extra hours to live.”

“Aw dude, want to go out hugging?” Bayley asked, aiming to lighten the mood for their final moments.

“Ew, no dude!” Sasha replied in laughter. Charlotte stood mute, not wanting to intrude on the friendship between her two fellow adventurers, who had clearly struck up a camaraderie. There would be time for her to bond with them if they survived this.

The zombies staggered closer and closer, close enough for Sasha, Charlotte and Bayley to smell their rotting breath, making them wrinkle their nose in disgust at the appalling smell. Although they knew there was no way out of this, the three were determined not to go out without a fight. They wouldn’t just lay down; they would go out fighting. Bayley and Sasha lashed out with their weapons, Sasha bludgeoning zombies with her staff, Bayley chopping away with her sword.

Having had a plan occur to her, in the chaos Charlotte let forth a bellowing cry, echoing through the undead army as she charged forward, using both her spear and shield to bash a path towards Blood Raven. The demonic Rogue stood rooted in place as the amazon rushed towards her. Although her facial features could not be seen through her helmet, the shock radiated from the corrupted Rogue, even as she nocked an arrow and fired it at Charlotte. Despite the close distance between them, Charlotte’s reflexes were quick enough for her to raise her shield to block the arrow, which bounced off the metal. Charlotte pulled her spear wielding arm back, and with a mighty roar, thrust the deadly weapon forward, skewering Blood Raven.

Although they were too busy defending themselves from the zombies assaulting them to notice Charlotte’s last-ditch charge, Bayley and Sasha stopped upon hearing the howling death shriek emanate from behind them. Turning their heads towards the source of the distinctive noise, Sasha and Bayley witnessed a ghostly female form rise up into the air from where Blood Raven had been standing. A white light emerged from Blood Raven’s spirit, shooting with dizzying speed towards her zombie army. The lightning energy passed through each individual zombie in quick succession, causing each one to simultaneously emit a death groan and collapse to the ground. When each zombie had been felled, the spirit of Blood Raven continued to rise up into the air and fade from view. The foul magic that had raised the zombies into undeath had now brought about their end.

With the undead threat banished, Bayley and Sasha took a grateful gulp of air, filled with overwhelming joy at having survived what they were so sure was their end. Bayley hugged Sasha, the sorceress so relieved that she didn’t complain or try to break away immediately. Sasha eventually pulled away, having indulged the affectionate paladin for long enough.

They turned their attention to the corpse of Blood Raven crumpled on the cobblestone path, Charlotte’s bloodied spear protruding from the deceased rogue’s chest. Sasha and Bayley raised their heads to look up, finding Charlotte standing over the corpse, her fists clenched in victory.

The muscles in her arm rippled as she tugged the spear out of Blood Raven’s bloodied body. Having realised what Charlotte had done to save them all, Bayley grinned and addressed the blonde.

“Wow, that was awesome!” Bayley enthused, “The way you heroically charged despite the risk, putting your body on the line in a last-ditch effort, that was incredible! Don’t you think so Sasha?” Bayley turned to the purple-haired sorceress, who didn’t show any signs of admiration.

“Too reckless if you ask me,” Sasha criticised.

“Well you’d be the one to know,” Bayley teased, her features softened to let Sasha know she was just joking. “Come on Sasha, she just saved all of us. The least you could do is show her some appreciation.” The last couple of sentences were said with a harsher tone, intentionally serious.

“Alright!” Sasha exclaimed, holding her hands up in exasperation before turning to Charlotte. “Look, I still don’t know you enough to trust you, but I can’t deny that if it wasn’t for you, we’d likely be dead right now. So, thanks,” Sasha said genuinely, the pause before thanking the amazon making it clear how difficult it was for her to express herself honestly. Charlotte nodded in acknowledgement. Words weren’t needed, now that they understood each other.

Looking at the crumpled form, the trio thought how peaceful she looked, in stark contrast to the demon peppering arrows at them only a minute ago. It was a startling reminder that she too was an adventurer just like them until she yielded to the demonic influence, serving as proof that evil can corrupt even the noblest of hearts. Sasha, Bayley and Charlotte would have to fight to ensure that Blood Raven’s fate would not be theirs. With their growing group of adventurers to keep each other sane, that task grew easier.

“Would you two be okay if I joined you?” Charlotte asked to break the silence. “I came from the Skovos Isles to fight evil, and I’d like to do so along you guys.”

Sasha remained silent, her emotions surrounding Charlotte conflicting, the amazon’s heroic actions making up for what Sasha perceived to be an arrogant demeanour.

“We’d love to have you alongside us Charlotte,” Bayley answered, making Charlotte beam with the acceptance. “However, there is one condition,” Bayley continued, narrowing her eyebrows in a show of deadly seriousness.

“And what’s that?” Charlotte asked in confusion, her mind racing as to what possible condition there could be.

Without warning, Bayley quickly outstretched her arms and wrapped them around the amazon in a tight hug. “This,” Bayley answered, giggling at successfully tricking the unsuspecting blonde. Charlotte laughed heartily back, and even Sasha couldn’t stop the grin spreading across her face at the brunette’s antics. The three continued to laugh joyfully as they set out towards the waypoint which would transport them back to the Rogue Encampment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading another chapter! As much enjoyment as I get out of writing this story, I get just as much enjoyment out of reading comments and seeing kudos. So please keep them coming! I'm really glad that people seem to be enjoying this story. What did we think of this chapter? Did I introduce Charlotte well enough? Am I continuing to write Sasha and Bayley adequately? When will Becky turn up? 
> 
> Okay, only I know the answer to that last question. But seriously, thank you again for reading!


	3. The Search for Cain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New characters are introduced, the trio turns into a quartet, and the horsewomen set out to rescue a wise old sage to help advise the Rogues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long time since the last chapter! I hope this mega chapter makes up for it.

The waypoint in the Rogue Encampment shimmered with a blue light, which quickly enveloped the materialising three human outlines before evaporating to complete the transportation process. The previously stern Rogue commander approached the party of three with haste, her expression covering her features clearly indicating that she was anxious to hear their report.

“Well?” Kashya questioned, her tone uneasy, fear causing her to speak quicker than usual “Is it done? Does Blood Raven still terrorise our lands?”

“It is,” Sasha responded, before motioning to Charlotte, who raised the splintered bow of Blood Raven. Kashya gasped in shock.

“You…” Kashya stuttered, “You actually did it!” Kashya’s tone clearly conveyed her gleeful disbelief, before shifting to confusion upon realising that she was looking at a newcomer. “And who is this outlander?” She asked, gesturing to Charlotte, who she had not seen before. Unlike the disdain initially aimed at both Sasha and Bayley upon meeting them, Kashya’s body language appeared immediately accepting of the blonde amazon.

“This is Charlotte,” Bayley piped up, quick to defend their new friend, knowing all too well Kashya’s cold attitude towards newcomers, and didn’t anticipate this being any different. “She helped us defeat Blood Raven. We wouldn’t have done it if it wasn’t for her.” Charlotte beamed at the praise, and Kashya turned to address the blonde.

“Well, well. I never expected to see an Amazon in these lands,” the commander said, showing her knowledge of other orders, “You’re very brave to have come here. Many of my fellow Sisters have fallen under some dark spell, and if you’re not careful you may fall prey to it as well.” Kashya knew how similar the Sisterhood of the Sightless Eye and the Amazons were. If her Sisterhood was so vulnerable to demonic corruption, then the Amazons were equally so. Meanwhile, Sasha and Bayley had their mouths agape in shock, taken aback by Kashya’s friendly advice. It served as stark contrast to the borderline malicious greeting which Kashya had given them both upon their first meetings.

“I can hardly believe that you’ve defeated Blood Raven!” Kashya exclaimed, speaking to all three of them. “Though she was once my closest friend, I pray that her tortured spirit remains banished forever.” The militant commander’s voice began to crack, with her pausing a moment and turning her back to avoid showing further vulnerability. She then turned to speak directly to Sasha.

“You have earned my respect, sorceress, and the allegiance of the Rogues.” Kashya shot the young sorceress a smile for the first time, and Sasha’s heart swelled with pride. She’d spent her entire lifetime training so that one day she could earn people’s respect through her actions. Kashya’s respect was something she had been chasing since her arrival. Although she never lost her determination or belief in herself, it was no less shocking to finally earn it. She had endured multiple displays of disrespect, but she had persevered and left the commander with no choice but to respect her. For the first time since leaving to forge her own path in the world, Sasha felt validation. That validation made it impossible for her to hide her elation, a wide grin crossing her face. Normally she’d feel compelled to hide any outward display of emotion, but she felt no reason to do so on this occasion. “As a show of my gratitude, I will place one of my best warriors at your disposal.”

Kashya turned on her heel and entered the tent behind her. A few moments later, she returned, a raven-haired Rogue archer in tow. “This is Paige, one of my finest soldiers” she gestured to the archer, “I’ll be sorry to lose her around here, but I have no doubt she will serve you well.”

“Hi!” Paige said, waving at the group while cocking her head slightly to the side, studying each of them in turn. Her expression was friendly enough, showing little apprehension about being appointed to accompany the group. Like all of the rogues, she’d heard about the strangers’ deeds earlier that day, and welcomed the opportunity to join them.

“Hi Paige,” the paladin said before introducing themselves, pointing at each party member sequentially “I’m Bayley, this is Sasha, and this is Charlotte.” The four made amicable introductions among themselves, before deciding to sit around the campfire to get acquainted. They sat on wooden benches, in a circle formation around the flickering embers. The fire warmed their bodies against the chilly night air.

“So Paige,” the paladin started, the pale-skinned woman turning her head upon hearing her name called. “How long have you been a Rogue?” Bayley enquired.

“All my life,” the raven haired archer responded, “My whole family have been Rogues, well, the female side at least. My dad and brothers weren’t Rogues of course, it would be a bit difficult to be a male in an all-female order,” Paige snickered, the others joining in the chuckle. “So what about you guys? Where have you all come from? I wouldn’t mind finding out more about the people I’ve been chosen to accompany.”

As Sasha had noted was a trend, the jovial paladin was first to chime in, sensing that the others were reluctant to go first. “I come from Westmarch. Though as I’ve been reminded a few times, the insignia on my breastplate kinda gives that away,” Bayley chuckled, pointing to the referenced insignia. “I originally trained under the Zakarum,” Bayley continued, referencing the infamous holy order, otherwise known as the Church of Light. Everybody across Sanctuary knew of it. “They were great, their hearts were in the right place, but I just found it too fanatical. They wanted me to just worship the Light, but I knew I was put on this world for more than simple worship.” Bayley’s features hardened very subtly, something which only Sasha noticed. And that was something only picked up because of their close proximity over a relatively short period of time. Their burgeoning friendship had already proved fruitful in noticing behavioural patterns, despite them meeting only a handful of hours ago. Sasha had noticed that it was rare that the typically jolly Bayley’s features darkened. This made her listen even more intently to her friend’s words.

“I wanted more than anything else to use the power of the Light to fight evil to help those in need,” Bayley continued. “I wasn’t going to do that if I was knelt in front of a church altar all day.” The others listened with rapt attention as Bayley proceeded to recount the events that led her to this point. “So I left to come back home to join the Knights of Westmarch, where I knew I would be given the opportunity to fight evil on the front lines. I wasn’t much of a fighter when I got there, but they quickly forged me into a holy weapon to smite the wicked demons of hell,” Bayley unconsciously beamed with an underlying sense of pride over what she’d become. “So when they got wind of the darkness that had taken hold over the monastery, I quickly volunteered to come here and lend a hand. I always wanted to make the world a happier place, and I have the opportunity to do that every single day with my actions,” Bayley finished, still smiling with pride, feeling relieved at the subtle looks of admiration shown by her companions. Regret was something seldom felt by the hugger, and this time was no different.

She knew how important it was to open up to the others. They were a group, and they needed to be able to trust each other in the heat of battle. They didn’t have much time to bond, but she’d be damned if she didn’t try her best to do so. Being so open was a good step in achieving that aim. Besides that, she hoped that if she opened up first, it might encourage the others to follow her example. Sasha certainly wouldn’t open up unless she was made to feel as though her input would be welcomed, to compensate for her insecurities regarding other people. And Charlotte was an unknown element; they hadn’t known each other long enough to know how she’d react.

Charlotte felt uplifted by Bayley’s tale. She had instantly felt welcomed by the brunette, but had privately wondered if it was all an act. However, she was convinced by Bayley’s words. Bayley had spoken with such passion, such determination, that it couldn’t possibly be for show. She genuinely felt a want to help others, and that made Charlotte instantly feel like Bayley had to be protected. She was like a unicorn; too good for this world. Though she had seen first-hand how capable she was in battle, and it was clear that she needed no one to protect her; she could handle herself. Regardless, Charlotte was going to do her damnedest to try.

Sasha on the other hand felt confirmation of what she felt she had already learned in the past few hours. Bayley had integrity that she could only dream of having. The paladin was a true paragon of virtue, and the sorceress aspired to be as righteous as she.

Paige was relieved to be assisting someone so dedicated to all that is good in the world. If she was going to serve anybody, she couldn’t ask for someone with a higher set of morals. She tried to be a role model for the younger rogues in the camp following her lead, but Bayley’s ideals made her a far better role model than she could ever be. That’s not to say that she suddenly felt inadequate. Everyone had their own part to play. And her part for the foreseeable future was aiding this intrepid band of adventurers in their quest to save her lands.

The aforementioned paladin watched as the expressions of admiration crossing the features of her companions dissipated as the newfound knowledge about their paladin sunk in, and she waited with bated breath for somebody else to follow her lead.

To everyone’s surprise, it was the young purple haired sorceress who spoke up first. Sasha hadn’t actually planned on contributing to the ice-breaker of a conversation, but Bayley’s willingness to share her story inspired her to do the same. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but she and Bayley had become intrinsically linked; their bond had grown strong. Despite their opposite personalities, she felt a pull towards the paladin, as though they were kindred spirits who needed each other. Though she would never admit it openly, even Sasha realised that the hugger had augmented her personality in the span of a few short hours. A part of her wanted to be more like the jubilant, buoyant paladin. At the heart of it, Sasha thought them to be average adventurers aspiring to be great, utterly unapologetically, and she knew that Bayley felt the exact same way. And that really resonated with her, that feeling of camaraderie. It was something she’d been without for all of her life, but something she never wanted to go without ever again. She’d cling to it for all it was worth.

“Uh,” Sasha started, her tone shaky and uneasy, clearly unused to freely sharing information about herself for an audience. “I um, I trained as an initiate of the Zann Esu mage clan.” Sasha glanced at Bayley, who gave her an encouraging smile. This provided Sasha the confidence to continue speaking, now with greater purpose with the encouragement from her friend, who she knew she could trust. “I was just an ordinary little girl when I was visited at the age of seven by the clan representatives and chosen to be an apprentice.” A smile crossed Sasha’s lips upon remembering, clearly a memory that brought happiness. “My family were so proud of me. Not only was I trained to fight evil to make the world better than I found it, but I was able to provide for my family, through the fortune earned by accepting the apprenticeship. I’d visit my mom and my brother every so often and show them what I had learned, and they couldn’t be more supportive. They’re my biggest fans.”

The sorceress by now was stuck in her own head thinking of her family, having tuned out her physically present companions. When she came back to reality and noticed the others staring at her, waiting for her to continue speaking, she swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat while gathering her thoughts, before continuing. “When I joined the clan, I knew in my heart that I wanted to do this. I wanted to use my elemental talent to become the greatest sorceress the world has ever seen.” Bayley knew exactly what her friend meant by that, but Charlotte and Paige; two people who hadn’t known Sasha for long, grew concerned that her passion might indicate a hunger for power, something that had turned many a mage to reckless evil in pursuit of power. Thankfully Sasha clarified her position, rather than leaving it at that. “I want that now just as much as I did back then, and I’m going to prove that by using my powers to defeat the evil that walks the world.”

Sasha released the breath she hadn’t even realised she was holding, coming to terms with the fact that she had just done something she had never imagined she’d voluntarily do just a few hours ago. It was a big deal for her to share so much personal information about herself to a group of relative strangers, but she knew it was all down to the brunette sitting beside her. Manipulation wouldn’t be the right choice of adjective; encouragement sounded a much more fitting term. Bayley felt pride on behalf of the sorceress; she knew that Sasha was uncomfortable with revealing her personal feelings with others, and recognised how momentous a step it was for her to share her personal life.

Charlotte and Paige on the other hand had listened attentively throughout the whole story. The amazon had immediately been curious about the sorceress since meeting her. As she recalled from the event just a couple of hours ago, Sasha had seemed immediately hostile, and for what reason, the blonde couldn’t work out. Having listened to her story, she picked up on a few of details that had explained why. Firstly, it was blindingly obvious that the purple-haired young sorceress had difficulty opening up to other people, judging by her stammering and uneasy tone of voice. Secondly, Sasha had clearly formed an intense bond with the paladin, and she could see how the arrival of a stranger wanting to insert herself into their group may have rattled her a bit. Thirdly, from what she knew of the Zann Esu clan and their training methods, the sorceresses were legendarily single-minded and doggedly driven to perfect their magical abilities, that it often came at the cost of social interaction. This often led to sorceresses lacking somewhat in emotional connections. After all, how could being whisked away from your friends and family at the age of seven to be trained day in and day out by the most talented, and demanding, sorceresses in the land not have that result?

Whilst the raven-haired rogue had felt uplifted by Bayley’s motivations, Sasha’s drive inspired her, making her want to have anywhere near the amount of raw passion which the sorceress clearly had in spades. She was already passionate about her line of work, but Sasha took that passion to a different level.

Both felt pleased to discover more about their companions, the trust given by sharing their stories helped immensely. After all, they had to trust each other as partners in this dangerous ongoing adventure.

It was this trust which inspired Charlotte to tell her story next. Sasha and Bayley may have already become familiar with each other, but they both knew next to nothing about the blonde amazon. This meant that it was a brand-new experience for everybody, to learn more about the enigmatic blonde. It wasn’t easy for Charlotte to share; mentally she was considerably more awkward and timid than her physical appearance would suggest. But she still wasn’t overly concerned with how the others might react to her. She’d already proven her worth in battle, she didn’t think her words would change much.

“Well, as an amazon, I’m a member of the Askari tribe from the Skovos Isles. My dad was a cunning, very famous warrior, fighting all over the world, and he trained me to follow in his footsteps.” Charlotte paused momentarily, deliberating on how to come across the way she wanted to portray herself. “He, uh, wanted me to continue his legacy. I didn’t plan on it, that was always my brother’s goal.” Charlotte paused and took a deep breath upon mentioning her brother, something that her attentive audience picked up on. “When he, he,” Charlotte began to stutter, her voice shaking with heart-wrenching emotion. Realising that her voice was cracking, she took a few moments to collect herself. Her companions heard the pain evident in her voice, and schooled their features into one of compassion, anticipating an impending heart-breaking story from the hints provided by Charlotte Flair’s voice.

Having recovered from the relived heartbreak, the amazon tried again. “When he was slaughtered by demons, I realised that I had to continue down the path he started, to honour his memory.” Charlotte took another moment, the sharing of personal history and reliving those painful memories again overwhelming her. Bayley moved from her place to sit beside Charlotte, putting an arm around her shoulder in a comforting side-hug. That really helped Charlotte’s state of mind, sensing that she wasn’t being judged. Though she would never ask for sympathy, Bayley’s embrace was comforting, and gave her the strength to power through and continue sharing her story.

“And so I dedicated myself fully to become the fiercest warrior I could, to protect my tribe and the legacy my father started,” Charlotte continued. By now the heart-wrenching hurt in her voice had been replaced by a fiery passion in stating her personal motivations. In sensing that Charlotte’s mood had changed, and no longer required her comfort, Bayley moved to sit back in her original place beside Sasha, and Charlotte began to speak once more.

“But it’s more than that. I don’t just want to be known as my father’s daughter, though I will never be ashamed to be that. I want to be recognised as a fierce, deadly warrior in my own right. And so far, I think I’m doing a pretty damn good job of that,” Charlotte finished unashamedly.

Sasha felt softened in her attitude towards the amazon after hearing her story. She realised that she had treated her unfairly upon their first meeting. It was another of the many things that she’d never admit, but part of the reason was jealousy. Charlotte was tall, strong and imposing, all things that Sasha was not. But more than that, it had been a continuation of her focused mind being closed off to accepting strangers. And so that had translated to a hostile attitude. An attitude that she now realised Charlotte had not deserved. She couldn’t bring herself to apologise to the blonde, but she privately vowed that going forward, she would make an effort to accommodate the amazon and treat her fairly.

The tragedy relayed by Charlotte had broken Bayley’s heart. In line with her happy go-lucky nature, she strongly believed that good existed in all humans. And nothing that Charlotte had said or done had suggested that she was anything different. She certainly did not deserve the tragedy that she had endured. Truthfully, it spoke to her character as a strong woman, to push through such a heart-breaking event and allow it to drive her to succeed. As the group’s unofficial protector, she would ensure with every breath in her body that Charlotte would not share her late brother’s fate.

Although Bayley’s experience had uplifted her, and Sasha’s story had increased her passion, Charlotte’s tale had inspired Paige and filled her with deep and intense admiration for the blonde for pushing through such adversity. Although her family were never acclaimed or illustrious enough for her relation to be an issue, Charlotte’s had clearly experienced the issue she had been spared from. She also felt a closer connection to Charlotte than she had with Sasha or Bayley, because of their common trait of being second-generation warriors. Not only that, but she felt intense empathy for the amazon for her loss. She was incredibly close to her own brothers, and she never even wanted to think about the possibility of losing them. The very idea of such a situation filled with her morbid dread, and Charlotte’s detailing of her experiencing that exact situation provided her with second-hand grief, imagining how she’d react if it were her having lost a brother. She didn’t think she’d have the sheer willpower that Charlotte had to carry on, and that was a true testament to her character, speaking volumes about the blonde.

The four sat in silence for a full minute, all processing the emotional journey which the amazon had just taken them on. Charlotte felt liberated to get all of that off her chest and proclaim what she had kept to herself. Feeling the odd one out, Paige knew it was time for her to share.

“Like Charlotte, my family were also warriors,” the rogue started. “My brothers and parents taught me to fight from an early age, though I didn’t want to at first. But once I started, I became addicted. It was an adrenaline rush, and I instantly fell in love with it. It’s an escape, isn’t it?” she asked rhetorically. She knew very well that the others felt a similar way, that they too enjoyed the thrill of combat. Every adventurer had that innate sense. “When I’m in the thick of battle with my family, working together, flowing together, it feels like the world just disappears.”

Paige smiled at the various memories that came to the surface of the many sparring sessions with her family which had prepared her for combat. “My family couldn’t have been more proud of me when I was selected to go out and fight in Kashya’s employ. I was only nineteen, the youngest to be selected in history. I was actually one of those sent to Tristram under the command of Blood Raven,” Paige revealed, referencing the corrupted rogue which the rest of her party had defeated a short while ago. “Though that was before she gave herself that wicked name. She still went by Moreina. I’ve done my best to fight the evil in our lands for the past few years. I somehow managed to survive at Tristram, and the siege of the monastery, and I’m still going,” Paige detailed, her voice becoming increasingly passionate. “It’s in my blood, this is what I was born to do.”

The paladin was sure by now that she had a reputation for perhaps being too trusting in people, but she firmly believed that she was right to believe in each of her companions, and Paige was no exception. Her conviction of battle as an escape from the persistent worry of demon influence was one she strongly identified with, and she had no reservations that the sorceress and the amazon felt the same way.

Mouth agape from Paige’s listing of battles she had survived, Sasha couldn’t help but sit in awe of the young rogue for enduring such deadly events and escaping with her life. The sorceress had not yet experienced such perilous full-scale battles, but she had the utmost respect for the rogue for her veteran status. She relished the opportunity to fight alongside her and learn a thing or two about survival. One thing that could be said of Sasha Banks was that she never stopped wanting to learn and hone her already considerable skills.

Charlotte couldn’t help but identify with Paige, both sharing the same aspect of being raised by experienced fighters. Both women were proud of their heritage, but although their respective families were proud of what they had become, they nonetheless always carried the burden of having to live up to their family name and expectations. Something that Bayley and Sasha hadn’t seemed to have gone through. As righteous as Bayley was, and as much as Charlotte respected Sasha’s passion, she felt a closer bond with Paige than the other two women, because they had such monumental parallels.

All four women individually felt a weight lift off their shoulders after sharing their personal journeys with one another. They may have only met a matter of hours ago, but they already felt some sort of bond with each other through the experience of mutually yielding personal details. They had all been at least partially reluctant to share at the beginning, due to the lack of familiarity, but as each of them shared their story, it had become monumentally easier for the remaining adventurers to reveal details about themselves, where in the world they had come from, and what drove them down the path of adventure and kept them going. For Bayley, it was the want to help others by removing evil from the world. For Sasha, it was the drive to be the best through her actions to make the world a better place. For Charlotte, it was the desire to carry on a family legacy while simultaneously building her own reputation. And for Paige, it was the fact that it was all she’d ever known, and a genetic talent for it.

“Good evening!” a man’s voice boomed as Warriv approached the quartet. The four exchanged greetings with the caravan trader. “I must say, congratulations are in order for what you’ve done today,” he said in a celebratory manner, looking between Sasha, Bayley and Charlotte.

“Thanks,” Bayley responded, matching the man’s jovial tone “We had a couple of close calls, but we managed to pull through with the help of each other.” She shot proud grins in the direction of Sasha and Charlotte, turning between the two. A pang of shame shot through Sasha, remembering her arrogance which almost led to her death in the Den of Evil earlier that day, a situation which she only survived thanks to Bayley. Thankfully the shame went away almost as quickly as it had arrived, having recognised it for what it was: a learning experience. Charlotte on the other hand glowed with pride on Bayley’s compliment, knowing that she had proven herself amongst the others in the battle against Blood Raven, and that they might not have survived without her risky manoeuvre.

“That which does not kill you, makes you stronger,” Warriv wisely retorted. They all knew there was merit to his words. They were all still relatively inexperienced, but the quests they had undertaken that day were valuable learning experiences, sharpening their skills and survivability. Training could only take them so far. They needed experience to take them to that next level, and surviving close encounters was an important part of that.

“Warriv,” Sasha addressed the jovial man in a far warmer tone than she had during their first meeting, having had experience dealing with someone with such a cheery attitude in Bayley, and drawing that exact parallel between them. If Bayley made her feel a lot better about herself, chatting with Warriv would have a similar effect. “Who is that man over there?” she asked, pointing towards the one man in the camp who they had not been introduced to. Standing by his lonesome in the southwestern corner of the camp in front of a caravan that had been converted into a rudimentary shop, he wore a large sleeveless yellow overcoat. Tall and middle-aged, a large bushy beard and moustache covered his jaw. His clothes suggested that he was a moderately wealthy man, which made them wonder what he would be doing here, if he had such monetary reserves. The body language displayed by the man suggested a welcoming, warm attitude, but even from their distance, Sasha could still see the calculating glint in his eyes, insinuating a more sinister demeanour.

“That’s Gheed,” Warriv answered. “He’s a wandering merchant with questionable character who’s traveling alone with my caravan to the east.” Warriv’s tone sounded troubled, something that had only been noticeable when he was talking about anything worth worrying about. The change of character for the normally jolly man made everyone pay particular attention to his words, and the warning he was about to give, as he narrowed his eyes in suspicion in Gheed’s direction. “He will buy and sell almost anything. He’s greedy but his wares are beyond reproach. I would suggest keeping both eyes open when dealing with him.”

Never one to willingly leave a conversation on a sour note, Bayley decided to steer towards a different topic. “Have you been a caravan master for long?”

Warriv’s features instantly lightened up, quickly forgetting about the devious Gheed and appreciating the merry paladin’s interest. “Oh yes, I’ve been leading my trade caravan across the eastern desert for more than twenty years now. I’ve been attacked by bandits and outlaws more times than I can remember, but never when a paladin accompanied me.” Warriv beamed at Bayley as he explained his particular affection for her kind. Of course, he was friendly, warm and welcoming to almost anybody he crossed paths with, but paladins would always occupy a particularly fond place in his heart. “Indeed, your order has saved me from losing a small fortune over the years,” he chuckled, though that did not detract from the genuine statement. He then turned to regard all four women sitting around the campfire. “I just hope you can discover what’s going on around here, and get the gates to the east open again.”

He took a moment to allow his communicated faith in the group to sink in, before bidding them farewell. “Now if you’ll excuse me, it’s getting late. I daresay you could all do with some rest as well,” he said with a tone of encouragement, rather than of authority. “I believe Akara will have an important mission to ask of you all, but that can wait until the morning. For now, take solace in your accomplishments, and know that everyone in this camp is grateful for what you have helped them with thus far.” With that closing note of encouragement, Warriv stood and strode off in the direction of his caravan. Warriv wasn’t a fool, he knew exactly how to handle people. He’d crossed paths with enough adventurers to know that they sometimes needed recognition of their accomplishments. Knowing that their actions were making a difference often led them to go on to do even greater things. The rogues were much more reserved and less likely to communicate their gratitude than he. However, he’d spoken to enough of them to know just how monumentally helpful these adventurers were. Before they’d arrived, the rogues had been despondent, many of their numbers lost, having lost the monastery they’d called home. In just one day, the actions of these heroes had given them hope. In his humble opinion, Warriv firmly believed that these adventurers had the potential to save them all.

The four women finally began to feel exhaustion overcome them, and mutually decided that Warriv was right. It was time to get some sleep before continuing their quest tomorrow. As they departed for their tent, provided free of charge as a show of gratitude by Akara, they could only speculate as to what the High Priestess had to ask of them on the morrow.

* * *

The new dawn rose, and one by one the four adventurers stirred. Waking from their peaceful slumber, their bodies and minds felt rejuvenated, having recovered from their combat the previous day. Bayley was the first to wake up, her mood comparable to a ray of sunshine, which contrasted with the moody, dark light outside the tent. It seemed the whole area was under perpetual darkness, now that she came to think of it.

Once the others had awoken and they’d all had some breakfast, they ventured over to Akara’s tent, remembering Warriv’s message from the night before. Akara’s features morphed into a friendly smile upon seeing them approach. Though it was left unsaid, the warm attitude she immediately took told them that she was very pleased with their progress in tackling the darkness surrounding their lands thus far. After exchanging morning greetings, Akara’s expression darkened as she began to reveal why she’d asked for their presence. She cleared her throat and began to divulge that information.

“It is clear that we are facing an evil difficult to comprehend, let alone combat,” she started, her words full of the uncertainty she had of her sisterhood’s survival. “There is only one Horadrim sage, schooled in the most arcane history and lore, who could advise us.” Akara’s voice was shaky. If the concern she had for her order’s survival hadn’t been plainly obvious by the expression she bore whenever she thought nobody was looking, it was bare for all to hear right now. She was clearly also uneasy about seeking outside help, but the wise high priestess knew that without somebody to advise them, there was zero chance of making enough progress before being wiped out by the demons. They needed help, and they needed it now.

Taking a pause to steady her voice, she looked into the eyes of the adventurers. Bayley’s eyes couldn’t be more sympathetic, though she was certain the paladin would be willing to try. Charlotte’s look of concern matched Akara’s own. Though she had yet to converse at length with the blonde, the two loosely knew each other, through their very similar orders. The Sisterhood of the Sightless Eye were once part of the Askari tribe, before a contingent broke off, taking the Sightless Eye with them to form said sisterhood. Despite this, the two organisations kept a close relationship. That was why Charlotte emphasised so deeply with Akara’s plight, more so than Sasha or Bayley could. For her part, Sasha clearly had a shred of sympathy for the order’s perilous situation, though her body language betrayed her impatience, wanting Akara to give them their task so they could get on with it. As a member of the Sisterhood of the Sightless Eye, Paige of course already knew intimately just how precarious the situation was, which was reflected in her countenance.

“His name is Deckard Cain,” Akara eventually revealed, finally having found the strength to give the adventurers their quest. She knew it was an incredibly dangerous task, one that could prove fatal. But unless they succeeded, the entire camp was doomed to eventually fall. And so it was with a heavy heart that she continued. “You must go to Tristram and find him, my friends. I pray that he still lives.”

“How do we get there?” Charlotte asked. Usually it would be Bayley speaking first before anybody else got a chance. Sasha in particular found this refreshing, seeing the blonde step up. There was a reason why Charlotte had asked so eagerly. With the shared history between their two orders, she felt compelled to do whatever she could to find salvation for the sisterhood.

Akara shook her head, clearly indicating that the journey would not be as simple as they’d imagined. “Tristram is too far to journey by foot, Cain would likely be dead when you arrived.” With Tristram having been burned to the ground and now swarming with demons, they couldn’t guarantee that Deckard Cain was still alive. And even if there was some outside chance that the old man had managed to stay alive, he surely couldn’t survive for much longer. “However, there is a magical portal that will take you there instantly.”

“A portal?” Sasha asked eagerly, her interest immediately piqued at the mention of magic. “Where do we find it? How do we activate it?”

“To open it, one must stand within the circle of Cairn Stones, located within the Stony Field, and touch them in a certain order.” She paused to allow the information to sink in before explaining further, “The proper order can be found in the runes written on the bark of the Tree of Inifuss. You must find the Tree of Inifuss and bring back it’s bark. I will translate the runes to unlock the Stones’ mystic patterns.”

“Bah! I would sooner micturate in a tankard of my ale than journey to Tristram!” a gruff voice said from behind them. Turning round, the women came face to face with Gheed, the merchant Warriv had warned them about the previous night. His scowl at the thought of journeying to Tristram faded as soon as he realised the women were looking at him. He masterfully schooled his features into a clearly false smile, overcompensating with a beam.

“Good day to you partners! I’m Gheed, and I can already tell that I’ll be your best friend in this forsaken camp,” he said in an enthusiastic and hearty tone, with a hint of slyness. His beaming smile was locked in place as he looked at each of the women in turn. To anyone who hadn’t been warned about him, they might fall for his insincere attempt to charm. However unfortunately for him, not a single one of them fell for his ploy. Bayley in particular was angered by the man’s behaviour. As one who took pride in being genuine and kind, she took it to heart whenever she met anyone who wasn’t either of the two characteristics she prided herself on.

“A spare weapon, some gold, a small gem is all I want in exchange for the equipment you’ll need on whatever quest you might undertake.” If Gheed hadn’t realised that none of the women were buying whatever he was selling, he didn’t show it. His smile still stretched across his face, having not moved from when he had first forced it. His eyes still twinkled insincerely, begging the women to put their trust in him. As a long-standing member of the camp, Paige was immune to his tactics, but clearly he thought it worthwhile to try to tempt the newcomers. A pause stretched as he waited for them to respond with enthusiasm, but none came. “Now, now, now, don’t be shy!” he scrambled, having not expected the abject apathy he was being treated to. “All of my items are guaranteed for life, and come with a two day warrantee!”

“Thank you for the kind offer,” Charlotte started diplomatically. She was just as annoyed as her companions at the obvious false charm by the shifty merchant, but she didn’t want to cause any trouble. And besides, she’d always tried to treat others in kind. If he wanted to be insincere, then so would she. “We’re good for the moment, but if we do need anything in the future, we might stop by.”

Satisfied with the tentative answer, Gheed smiled and nodded in acknowledgement before turning around and slinking back to his shop.

Akara was clearly not amused at the merchant’s display, and found it prudent to offer her advice to the adventurers. “To be honest, I have done my best to steer clear of Gheed. He wears dishonestly like a cloak, and seeks only to better his situation by preying on the misfortunes of others.”

The adventurers nodded gratefully, appreciating her warning. Paige, Bayley, Sasha and Charlotte turned and made their way to the camp’s waypoint, and set the destination for the Cold Plains, ready to set off to find Deckard Cain.

* * *

Being greeted by the increasingly familiar smell of decay as they materialised back in the Cold Plains, their eyes falling upon the corpses of the corrupted rogues they’d slain on their last journey here, they took refuge in the fact that nobody had come to raise them into undeath.

“Wow, it looks like you guys really made a dent in their numbers,” Paige said, her tone one of awe. “Usually this place is swarming with them.”

“Yeah, well that’s how you make a statement, like a boss,” Sasha responded, her tone teasing but no less brash.

“Isn’t Bayley your boss?” Charlotte questioned, lightheartedly enough to let the younger woman know that she wasn’t being serious.

“Slow your roll there, queenie,” Sasha retorted, poking fun at the amazon’s persistently regal posture.

“Hey, if I’m the one protecting you all, I guess that means I’m the boss of each one of you,” Bayley piped up.

“Oh yeah?” Sasha raised her eyebrows at the paladin. “Wanna fight for leadership?” She deliberately injected some fire in her tone, though her grin made it clear that it wasn’t a serious challenge.

Bayley pretended to be lost in thought for a moment before giving her answer, “Nah, I’d rather hug it out!” She extended her arms towards Sasha, threatening to follow through.

Sasha couldn’t help but laugh at the playful attitude of her friend, whom she’d quickly become enamoured with, shaking her head in amusement. Paige and Charlotte joined in on the laughter, appreciating the silly nature of their companions. With such dark times, it helped enormously to maintain a lighthearted atmosphere, to remind them of what they were fighting to preserve. All of them were grateful for the growing bonds being developed.

They continued walking in formation, Bayley and Sasha at the front, with Paige and Charlotte bringing up the rear. The rationale behind this was that with one melee and one ranged fighter covering the front and rear, they’d be in the best position to defend if attacked. They walked past the burial grounds, and carried on into the Stony Field, the region named for the Cairn Stones which acted as a landmark.

Though they spotted the outlines of the Cairn Stones in the distance, they carried on walking in a different direction. Right now, the Cairn Stones were not their priority. It would be no use approaching them without knowing what order to touch them in order to activate the portal to Tristram. For that, they needed to find the Underground Passage to the Dark Wood, where they could recover the Scroll of Inifuss.

Charlotte took the time to study their surroundings. Though she was sure that in a brighter light the countryside would look beautiful, right now in the present brightness levels, or lack thereof, the scraggly trees, the damp grass, the rocky outcrops, all of it combined to form a foreboding result against a perpetually dim grey sky. Why was it so dark and dim all the time?

“I don’t know, maybe the land just doesn’t like demons running across it?” Bayley answered. Charlotte cringed internally, realising that she had accidentally wondered her question out loud.

“What’s the matter, the sky not bright enough for you, your highness?” Sasha teased, a smirk crossing her face at the ease she had riling Charlotte up.

“Y’know, maybe if you spent less time pretending to be a Boss, you’d actually have answers to contribute,” Charlotte fired back, frustration at Sasha’s persistently snarky comments coating her tone. Bayley grew increasingly concerned at the turn of events. Their conversation had started off playful, now Charlotte and Sasha were threatening to turn it malicious. It’s understandable that there would be some tension, they were still relative strangers to one another, given how short a time they’d known each other, but they couldn’t risk their morale dropping. Not on such a perilous mission as they were on. Bayley was about to say something to drop the building levels of tension before they imploded, but she was beaten to it.

“No guys, the area just has a VERY rainy climate,” Paige intervened, switching back to the original topic. As a native of the region, she could provide the answers which the others could not. And just like Bayley, she was eager to diffuse the situation. Bayley shot a grateful smile at Paige, which the raven-haired rogue acknowledged with a nod.

“How much further is this passage?” Bayley asked. As she waited for Paige’s response, she turned around to look at Sasha and Charlotte, both of whom were pouting after their tense exchange. An internal groan settled in Bayley’s chest. She hoped that the two women would learn to co-exist peacefully in time. She thought they’d made a huge leap with their heart-to-heart with each other last night, but evidently that was not enough.

“Not far, just a few more minutes up this path,” Paige answered, glad for Bayley’s calming presence among the two alpha females in Sasha and Charlotte. Though she did not voice it, she hoped that sooner or later the pair would put their egos aside to avoid situations such as this.

* * *

Just like Paige promised, a few minutes later they approached the rocky silhouette of the underground passage’s exterior. The rock stretched on for miles around the region’s borders, with a prominent hole making it clear where they had to enter.

Shock radiated off the women’s bodies as they laid eyes on the lit torches upon their entry into the cave. Though it would not be a surprising sight back when the region was populated by travellers rather than demons, the lit torches clearly meant that someone had been through here recently. And if they had entered, they could still be taking refuge, waiting to attack any hapless adventurer. In these dark times, the likelihood of it being a friend rather than a foe was astronomical.

“Stay together,” Bayley warned, wanting to keep them prepared in case of attack. “There’s no telling what’s waiting for us in the shadows.” She put on a façade of strength, though secretly she was truly scared at the prospect of being ambushed in the dark, dank cave. It would be no use sharing that fear, and in truth would likely hinder them. Fear left them open to shaky decision making, with the tenuity potentially spelling disaster for them if their fears should become realised. And if she, the pillar of the group, openly showed fear, that would open the floodgates for the others to do so as well. She couldn’t let that happen.

The groups’ fears soon became realised when they stumbled upon four skeletons dotted around the corridor in front of them. Yellowed bones which still held together, animated by foul demonic magic, each skeleton wielded an axe in one hand and a wooden shield pierced by multiple arrows in the other. Charlotte titled her head in confusion, thinking it curious that each skeleton held identical weaponry. Realisation hit her like a wave, surmising that in life, these skeletons must have been part of the same unit, with the axe and shield being standard equipment. She struggled against the urge to ponder deeper on the subject. Realising that these skeletons used to belong to the same battalion meant realising that these used to be living people. Living people whose lives had been cut short before their time, their skeletons now forced by evil magic to slay innocents. She steeled her gaze, shut down her mind’s current thought process, and set her jaw firm, reminding herself of the fearsome amazon warrior she was, rather than the sentimental deep thinker she could be at times.

The four shared glances, mentally agreeing with their next move, without the need for verbal communication. On their path to get here, they’d discussed strategy, and worked out a battle plan for this exact scenario. Now, it was time to execute it.

Bayley and Charlotte stepped aside to give Paige and Sasha an unobstructed aim. Paige readied her quiver, nocking an arrow against her bow. Sasha grasped her staff firmly, closed her eyes and breathed deeply, focusing on building up enough magical energy to release. The raven-haired archer waited for her partner to open her eyes again, and when she met her gaze, she motioned to the purple-haired sorceress which target she would fire her arrow at. Sasha nodded her head in acknowledgement, and gestured to her target. Seeking to remain as quiet as possible before they made their presence known, Paige communicated non-verbally to Sasha.

“Ready?” Paige mouthed to the sorceress, whose eyes blazed with magical energy coursing through her veins.

“Yeah,” Sasha mouthed back in response.

Paige released the arrow she was holding, letting it sail through the air towards the unsuspecting skeleton. A millisecond later, Sasha released the lightning bolt she was holding, the dazzling white light escaping from the tip of her staff, zipping through the air towards a second skeleton. Paige’s arrow continued whistling through the air, a symphony of the unaware skeleton’s impending demise. Likewise the crackling electricity of Sasha’s bolt served to herald the end of the other targeted skeleton, threatening a second death.

The arrow pierced the skeleton’s pelvis, hitting with enough impact to sever the decayed bones. It never knew what hit it, collapsing into a pile of broken bones. Sasha’s lightning bolt slammed into the other skeleton with force, a zapping noise filling the air as the electricity coursed through the already damaged bones. Just like it’s companion, the second skeleton fell, never to rise again.

Now it was Charlotte and Bayley’s turn. Charging into the fray, they engaged in close-quarter combat with the remaining two skeletons. Charlotte dodged out of the way of her opponent’s axe, which swung through empty air, her quick reflexes serving her well. Bayley saw her opponent’s axe swinging towards her. Instead of copying Charlotte’s athleticism, Bayley got her shield up in time to block the blow, the metal of the axe sounding a dull clang as it bounced off the metal shield. Charlotte took advantage of her opponent’s surprise at her unexpected dodge, twirling her body and spear around, quick and fluid motions making precise incisions to sever as many connections between bones as she could. When she turned around to inspect the result of her efforts, she noticed the skeleton seemed to have disappeared. When she glanced down to the floor, she saw a jumble of bones piled up, a macabre display of her brutal efficiency in combat. Bayley on the other hand counterattacked her opponent with brute strength, swinging her sword horizontally, cleaving the skeleton’s midsection. She watched as the skeleton toppled to the ground, cloven cleanly in two.

“Remind me never to piss you off enough to do that to me,” Sasha chuckled nervously at Charlotte, a mixture of awe and trepidation, considering how she had bothered the blonde minutes earlier.

“Make sure that you don’t,” Charlotte warned seriously without a hint of playfulness, wanting to make it clear that she did not appreciate Sasha’s previous barb. The sooner that Sasha realised that she wasn’t going to take any of her crap, the better.

“That was such a clean hit Bay,” Paige complimented the paladin with a smile, impressed with how quickly and effectively she put the skeleton back down to the ground, “straight and to the point.”

“Thanks,” Bayley responded, eyes sparkling at the praise, eager to repay the rogue back in kind, “that was some pretty nifty shooting yourself.”

The mixture of Sasha and Charlotte’s pointed interaction, coupled with Paige and Bayley’s mutual admiration for each other’s combat skills, made for an odd atmosphere. The four women waited in silence for a few seconds, all unsure of how to proceed, given the mixed emotions in the group. Releasing her bated breath, Bayley finally broke the silence.

“Come on guys, we still got a tree to find.” The suggestion was uttered with enough light heartedness in her voice to ease the tension somewhat, incentivising the other women to follow her lead.

The four adventurers continued through the underground passage, dispatching numerous lone enemies along the way. Cowardly fallen, aggressive corrupted rogues, and fragile skeletons. They all barred their way, but they all fell to the increasingly experienced group, all functioning as a team in combat, Charlotte and Sasha seemingly having put aside their differences for the time being.

* * *

Within a perceivably short period of time, the cave’s exit was in sight, the ascending rocky steps leading to a hole a sight for sore eyes which had become unhappily accustomed to the darkness. The four dashed up the stairs, eager to let their bodies bathe in the dim light of the outdoors. As dismal as the sky may be, it still beat lingering in the murky, cavernous depths of the earth.

“Be on your guard,” Paige warned, her experience of the surrounding lands paying dividends to the foreign adventurers. “There are likely plenty of corrupted rogues lurking behind these trees, ready to strike.”

The other three glanced around at the forested lands. The land wasn’t referred to as “the Dark Wood” for nothing. At least in the previous areas they’d journeyed through a little light was beamed down to the open ground. Here, the area was covered with trees, the thick canopy obscuring what little light could have made its way through to them, giving the whole area a very dangerous aura to it. If the near-complete lack of sunlight wasn’t enough, the decrepit-looking trees gave a feeling of foreboding. The gnarled barks looked ancient and malnourished, their branches resembling distorted limbs. Paige’s words rung true; the thick tree trunks would allow the typically lithe body of a rogue to easily hide behind without being detected.

They proceeded with caution for a few minutes, constantly checking their surrounding area for a potential ambush. Charlotte held her hand up, motioning for the others to stop in their tracks, her ears having picked up the most minute rustling of leaves, the sound’s instigator clearly having failed to remain undetected. No sooner had the rustling stopped, an arrow whistled through the air on a collision course with the mostly unsuspecting group. Charlotte’s heightened senses due to her intense training allowed her to detect the arrow heading their way just in time to do something about it.

“DUCK!” the blonde barked, warning the others of the inherent danger. All four did so, trusting Charlotte’s instincts without question. They managed to do so just in time, the arrow sailing above them through the space in which their heads were a moment ago. A thud was heard as the arrowhead embedded itself in a tree behind them. Their collective hearts raced, the inherent danger providing a boost of adrenaline. They’d quickly discover how useful that adrenaline would prove to be, as a horde of corrupted rogues emerged from the trees, charging towards them with devilish speed.

Shaking aside their initial shock at the sudden ambush, the women planted themselves in a defensible fighting stance. Sasha with her staff pointed, her expression calculated, waiting for her magic to build to a level worth unleashing upon her foes. Bayley with her feet planted, her shield ready to protect herself with her sword raised outward from her midsection, a determination to defend her allies plain for all to see across her face. Charlotte with a royal smirk across her face, her spear grasped in both hands, ready to give another dazzling display of athletic combat. Paige brought up the rear, an arrow already nocked to her bow with more in her quiver, ready to rain a barrage of arrows into her fallen sisters, her countenance one of inner turmoil. As much as she didn’t wish to harm those she had once called sisters, she knew that they were beyond salvation; their now twisted minds would slaughter them with glee.

The minor skirmish began. A contingent of spearwomen and archers advanced towards them, their eyes blazing with murderous intent. If they thought the four adventurers would be easy prey, they were sorely mistaken. Bayley and Charlotte fought side-by-side in melee combat, blocking the blows and parrying the arrows that came their way, all the while launching precise counterattacks. Steel clashed upon steel, a symphony of war. Sasha and Paige provided ranged support, Sasha launching deadly electrifying lightning bolts, which zoomed towards the archers with audible crackles, their light dazzling long enough to blind and nullify their aim. Paige launched arrow after arrow with frightening speed, a true markswoman finding her target, each and every time with perfect accuracy. Each time a corrupted rogue fell in battle, their released ghostly spirit rising into the sky, released from its mortal shackles, the four felt emboldened, pressing the attack more aggressively, eager to end the twisted corrupted rogues’ torment.

Moments later, the last remaining attacker was eliminated, and the four women collectively breathed a sigh of relief. They took a brief moment to collect themselves before continuing on. The surprise attack had been dealt with, but they still had a tree to find.

* * *

The shadowy forests gave Bayley the creeps, the brunette thought to herself. She was not so much scared of the forces of evil, themselves. As a devout follower of the light, she took pride in personally seeing to it that they were destroyed, nevermore to threaten innocent lives. Normally she’d be fighting them in an open area, where there were no trees to hide behind. And even if there were obstacles to offer cover, at least she’d normally be able to see clearly in the sunlight. But out here, in the Dark Wood? She didn’t exactly feel helpless, but the conditions certainly hampered their chances of survival. She was thankful that they were currently heading towards a clearing, where they’d be less susceptible to an ambush.

“Look, over there!” Paige said, breaking the paladin out of her reverie. She pointed towards a tree which was different to all the others. In a land crowded with dense lines of trees, this tree was stood all by itself, with no other tree immediately nearby. There was no doubt, this was the tree they had been searching for. The other trees hadn’t exactly been pretty to look at, but this one took that quality and really ran with it, looking like a horrific mockery of a tree. It’s withered, ancient bark had a decayed grey tinge to it, spindly branches outstretching upwards, the silhouette resembling a human calling to the heavens, complete with moss drooping from the branches, further adding to the illusion, with the moss a substitute for a sorcerer’s drooping robe sleeves. Whether the tree was magically shaped to be that way, or whether it was just a astronomically odd resemblance, none of them could say. Either way, the tree was one ugly landmark. If it was possible to have a zombified tree, this is what it would look like.

“Lets get the bark and get out of-“ Sasha said, sharing her companion’s secret wish to not linger here any longer than absolutely necessary. The end of her sentence was cut off, as booming, monstrous roars echoed throughout the clearing. With adequate warning given, the adventurers watched in horror as four Brutes charged towards them. A stronger mutation of the gargantuan beasts she’d encountered back in the Den of Evil, with both belonging to the Wendigo family, Sasha quivered at the sight of them. They were no less terrifying, in fact even more so. Their bodies were covered in darker coloured bristly fur, towering over each of them like giants, their gigantic fists ready to pulverise them into the dirt.

Unlike the gargantuan beasts she’d fought before, who had lumbered towards her, these creatures moved _fast_. So fast that they barely had time to dive out of the way of the foul beasts’ attack path. Bayley and Charlotte in particular felt a great deal of apprehension about fighting these creatures. Blocking and parrying with their shield and spear respectively wouldn’t work here; the brute strength would be far too great and would just break the wood. They’d have to fight smarter, leaping out of the way of the creatures’ attacks.

Sasha regained her composure enough to summon a round of crackling lightning bolts. She released them with gusto, sending the electrical orbs of energy flying towards the group of brutes. None of them missed the mark, with each brute receiving a shock to their system as the electricity coursed through their veins, temporarily stunning them. The others saw this as the opportune moment to strike. Bayley used her sword to slice up at the gigantic fists of the brute closest to her, the blade rendering the creature’s main form of attack useless. The brute shrieked in anguish, its screams dying as Paige peppered its face with a volley of arrows to end the creature’s life. Bayley couldn’t help but feel a modicum of remorse for the creature. Unlike the corrupted rogues, these creatures weren’t evil. They were just hyper-aggressive, having felt threatened by humans claiming their lands for generations. While some might not feel that that was adequate reasoning for her compassion, to Bayley that distinction made all the difference. Demons fought to inflict pain. These creatures fought as a self-defence mechanism. It’s just unfortunate for her and her friends that the creatures no longer made any distinction between innocent travellers and would-be invaders encroaching upon their land. Anyone who crossed their path was deemed a threat, and unfortunately that meant the brutes had to die, if Bayley and her friends were to live.

Charlotte pressed the advantage they had over the stunned creatures, diving between one of the remaining brute’s legs, her back scraping across the ground. Quickly leaping back to her feet without skipping a beat, she repeatedly drove her spear again and again into the back of the creature’s legs, cutting away at the tendons, hamstringing the creature. The brute roared in pain, and collapsed to the ground, no longer able to stand, the beast crippled. Charlotte ducked out of the way of its flailing fists as it fell. She knew she’d have to put the brute out of its misery. Even if it was confined to the ground, it still retained upper arm strength, and therefore remained a threat. Retracting her spear-wielding arm, she let loose a sorrowful roar as she thrust the spear forward into the creature’s forehead, putting it out of its misery with a swift death.

Although they’d managed to slay half of the creatures which threatened them before they managed to kill them, the remaining two had now recovered from the lightning which had previously stunned them. They now looked to avenge their fallen brethren, their beady eyes blazing with fury. The four women coordinated their attacks on one of the two remaining brutes, each of them ducking and dodging to avoid the oncoming fists swung at them.

While Sasha, Bayley and Charlotte were busy engaging one of the two, the second, larger brute made a beeline for Paige, who stood apart from her friends during combat in order to have effective aim with her bow. Yellow markings on the creature’s skin identified it as the leader of the pack, and as it barrelled towards the raven-haired rogue, Paige’s eyes widened with fear. The intelligent creature had clearly watched her pepper the brutes with arrows from afar, and had deemed her the biggest threat, in need of immediate elimination. Paige didn’t have time to leap out of the way, the brute leader charging with inhuman speed. The creature’s body slammed into her, picking her up and continuing towards a nearby brick wall. Paige screamed in pain at the impact, feeling her ribs crack with a sickening sound at the brute force.

The sound alerted her allies to her immediate peril, just as they’d managed to finish off the other brute, leaving the leader the only one remaining alive. Upon seeing their friend trapped and cornered, entirely at the massive behemoth’s mercy, despair gripped each of their hearts. The realisation that there was simply no way for them to reach Paige in time to save her dawning on them, even as they rushed with reckless abandon.

“NO!!” Bayley howled at the horrifying sight of her companion being pummelled repeatedly, the creature driving its humongous fist into Paige’s body, over and over again, with the rogue crying out in pain with every punch. It was like an out of body experience, rushing towards her friend as her life was siphoned with every blow, knowing there was little she could do but watch it happen.

Sasha tried to call upon the elements to conjure up a lightning bolt as quickly as she could, but shaky hands, her mana reserves almost depleted, and the horrific sight of her fellow adventurer’s agonising fate, made it difficult for her to focus.

Even as the most athletic member of the group, Charlotte despaired as she realised that even her athleticism wouldn’t allow her limbs to work quickly enough to reach Paige in time. That didn’t stop her from trying. Nothing would stop her from trying to save her friend, the one she felt a closest connection to. Her arms and legs pumped forwards and back as she sprinted at top speed, the grass and mud spitting into the air as her boots tore through them, creating a green and brown cloud. She was mere feet away from the creature, as the world seemed to turn to slow motion, and the creature draw its enormous arm back for one last strike.

A sickening crunch sounded throughout the air as the behemoth struck the final blow, and Paige’s blood-curdling screams silenced. Fearing the worst, but with the heinous brute’s gargantuan body blocking them from what seeing their companion’s fate, the three adventurers leapt into the fray with reckless abandon, their only priority being justice. They struck ruthlessly with a great and terrible vengeance, Charlotte repeatedly thrusting her spear again and again into the monster’s body. She didn’t care about precision, the blonde’s eyes blazing with fury, piercing whatever piece of skin she could find. The only thing she wanted right now was to spill the creature’s blood to make it pay. Sasha’s expression was cold and merciless, channelling her anger into releasing more potent lightning bolts, the crackling electrical lights acting as her instrument of revenge. Even Bayley, who had been the calmest and least bloodthirsty member of the group, slashed the creature with her sword over and over again. Like Charlotte, she wasn’t worried about where she was attacking. She just wanted to do whatever she could to end the creature’s life, but in that moment, she was more focused on inflicting a fraction of the agony her friend had just endured at this monster’s hands. The creature had just savagely beaten her friend, likely to death, and she was going to make it pay. As a paladin, she was trained to not lose herself, but right now she had become a raging maelstrom of pure retribution.

The three adventurers’ insatiable bloodlust finally ended as the detestable behemoth roared a death cry, finally succumbing to the multiple puncture wounds across its body, its death hastened by the electrical charge coursing through the monster’s veins. The gigantic mass slammed to the ground, a cloud of dirt bursting into the air upon impact. As the dust settled, the blood haze ebbed away from the three, and the disturbing fate of Paige was revealed. Charlotte, Bayley and Sasha all rushed towards her in unison, their hearts feeling as though it had been ripped away from their body, coming to terms with the fact that their friend was now a bloody corpse.

Slumped against the stone wall, her legs were extended on the ground in a sitting position, her body posture looked more relaxed and peaceful than they knew her fate ultimately was. Her features were contorted in a mixture of pain and anguish, her soulless eyes staring forward with no light behind them. Her lips were still parted from her death scream, visibly having not quite reached its conclusion. Frozen, as though her still lips yearned to shut once more, destined to ultimately never happen again. Despite Paige’s perennial pale complexion in life, her skin had already turned even whiter in death, as her life had drained away.

Bayley reached over and pulled Paige’s eyelids shut, not wanting to continue looking at the fear in her dead eyes, nor did she wish for the others to subject themselves to the same form of torture. She was their protector. That role didn’t just include physical protection, but mental protection too. She’d already failed when it came to protecting Paige. There was no way she’d fail the others too. The brunette closed her eyes and murmured a prayer for the fallen archer. No, not a fallen archer. Their companion. Their friend.

Eyes brimming with tears, Sasha’s bottom lip began to quiver as she turned away from the sight before her and covered her face with her hands. As little as she’d interacted with Paige, she’d never been given any reason to doubt her sincerity and her heroism. If anything, she’d been given proof of her honour in Paige’s unwitting sacrifice. It was no coincidence that the monster had targeted Paige. She’d been perceived as the biggest threat posited by the group. For that, she’d died in the line of duty. Not just that; she’d died a hero. It was far from the heroic death she’d likely dreamt of, but the world wasn’t that kind. Nor did it diminish her heroism by any stretch. Her deadly proficiency and skill with a bow, and her quickfire abilities may well have saved their lives, even if they were unable to save her in return. Sasha discreetly wiped the tears from her eyes with her back turned. She did not doubt that her companions would understand, but she simply could not allow herself to openly show her hurt. She had privately vowed to outwardly remain a pillar of strength, believing that it would be the best way to keep them reassured and therefore protected.

Charlotte on the other hand had no reservations about putting her emotions on full display. She openly wept, tears continuing to stream down her cheeks, her chest wracking with heart-wrenching sobs. She might not have personally known Paige for very long, but she still felt a profound sense of loss, given the shared ancestry between their two orders. Right from the moment she’d met Paige, she’d felt a kinship with the raven-haired rogue. Now, she was gone.

The three women stayed either seated or on their knees, taking a minute to come to terms with their loss. A minute wouldn’t be enough of course, but they didn’t have the luxury of having the time to succumb to grief. From what Akara had told them from the outset, the life of the revered Horadrim sage, Deckard Cain, was in grave danger. Each minute they wasted was another minute in which it could be too late to save Cain, and therefore too late to save the Sisterhood of the Sightless Eye. As much as they didn’t want to toss away Paige’s loss and make it seem insignificant, the best way they could honour her memory was to save her people, all the people she knew and loved, which meant pushing on without adequate time to mourn. They’d make sure to have time to mourn after the encampment was saved.

Although all three women individually sensed that they had to soldier on, neither of them wanted to voice it. It was the unpleasant truth they didn’t want to confront. Wordlessly, Sasha got up and ripped the piece of bark off of the tree containing the Scroll of Inifuss. Charlotte and Bayley looked up at the sorceress, her gaze telling them that they had to move on. As painful as it was to admit, she was right. Charlotte and Bayley nodded in response to the implied plea.

“I’ll carry her,” Charlotte rasped, her voice weak from crying. The amazon picked up Paige’s limp body, delicately placing her over her shoulder. Her spear in one hand, the other clasped tightly around Paige’s back, the three set off, devastated that their quartet had been reduced to a trio.

* * *

After arriving back at the camp with their grave news to impart, the corpse they carried resulted in many tears, sobs of fury and various other forms of grief throughout the camp. The three did their best to not break down, briefly offering shoulders to cry on for Paige’s grieving family and friends. It couldn’t last for long. They still had to travel to Tristram and save Deckard Cain. Of course there were many questions left, but there simply wasn’t time to answer them all. Paige’s parents were given a moment of priority, but after that, they’d have to keep going.

“A dark day, to be sure,” Akara said with a shaky voice as they approached, her tone clearly distressed at the loss of one of their young. Not just that, but one of their best warriors. And not only one of their best warriors, but one who was highly respected and loved within the sisterhood. “As much as it pains me, I must ask you to journey onward with haste,” her face clearly showed her inner turmoil, not finding it easy to ask them to push their grief aside, but knowing it was necessary. “If we do not get help soon, we may all be in grave danger. Did you retrieve the Scroll of Inifuss?”

Not finding the strength to answer verbally, her eyes still red from weeping, Sasha pulled the bark out of her satchel and extended it to Akara, who took it.

“Ah very good,” Akara said, taking a moment to concentrate on intricate spellwork on the scroll before handing it back to Sasha. “I have translated the runes on this scroll. You must find the Cairn Stones and touch them in the order I have written.” Akara’s tone had lifted from the clear progress made, taking them one step closer to salvation, despite the tragic loss of Paige. A loss which still weighed heavily on her mind, but she would not give in to despair.

The trio nodded in acknowledgement, still too deep in mourning to engage in any conversation that couldn’t be communicated with a physical gesture. Silently, save for the sounds of their boots treading on grass, the three made their way over to the camp waypoint, their destination set for the Stony Field.

* * *

Upon materialising in the Stony Field, the shimmering light surrounding their arrival dissipating, the three shuffled towards the Cairn Stones. Though they knew they had to journey on, their steps didn’t quite have the enthusiasm as they had when Paige still strode with them.

The cackle of demonic creatures could be plainly heard as they approached the Cairn Stones. Up ahead, they spotted the outlines of multiple Fallen, the torches they carried illuminating their demonic forms. No, they weren’t normal fallen after all. Their outlines were the same shape, but they were slightly larger and had blue skin instead of red. Having studied the various demon races, Sasha knew them to be carvers, a stronger variant of fallen. And if the rumours were true, their leader was here. The Lord of the Fallen, Rakanishu. Squinting ahead, the purple-haired sorceress spotted his fearsome form. While the minions under his command had skin of an azure shade, their leader had a distinctive indigo glow to him.

The three adventurers looked on at the pack of carvers with glee, an aggressive glint in their eyes. Focusing their energies on killing the demons would prove a welcome distraction from thinking about Paige, given that each of the three had been lost in their own thoughts on the short trek to the Cairn Stones.

Without hesitation, Bayley charged into battle, her sword raised aloft, shield raised in perfect position to protect herself. She channelled her grief into a menacing war cry, startling the unsuspecting impish demons. Charlotte was close behind, aching to plunge her spear into as many demonic hearts as she could find, to sate the despair she felt at Paige’s loss. With a terrifying scowl on her face that would be enough to send the carvers scurrying, she too bellowed an intimidating war shout upon her approach. Sasha of course provided ranged support. With Paige gone, that task now fell entirely upon her shoulders. She certainly wouldn’t shirk her responsibility. She allowed herself to focus solely on the grief she felt, channelling her anger, using that rage to supercharge her lightning bolts to be more potent, more deadly than before. With an anguished cry, she let forth a barrage of crackling lightning bolts, dazzling with their dancing electrical charge. The electrical bolts zoomed towards the now terrified carvers, whose features twisted in recognition of the furious warriors bearing down on them.

The first round of lightning bolts slammed against the gathering of carvers, most of them making contact. They subjected them to terminal electrical shocks, electricity coursing through their veins to overload their demonic hearts. The surviving carvers started scurrying away in different directions, their characteristic cowardice on full display. Bayley and Charlotte charged after their nearest carver, picking them off one-by-one, slaying them without remorse, without pity. After all, it was demonic influence which heightened the native beasts’ aggression, which ultimately caused Paige’s death. As the root of all evil, the demons were ultimately to blame. These particular demons stood in their way of saving Deckard Cain, and for that they had to be eliminated.

As Sasha, Charlotte and Bayley picked off the remaining stragglers, one of their number did not waver. Did not scamper. Stood his ground. Rakanishu.

He let out a fierce battle cry, and the small number of carvers that had survived instantly turned and rallied to his side. If there was one thing the fallen feared more than an attacking adventurer, it was the wrath of their lord. The three adventurers cut a swathe of death through the carvers’ ranks, attempting to reach the lord of the fallen.

Bayley slashed at Rakanishu, her blade slicing into his arm, causing the demon to screech in pain. However as he did so, a lightning bolt was released from the wound, Bayley’s eyes widening in shock as the crackling white bolt of electricity zoomed towards her. At such close proximity she was unable to avoid it. Bayley grunted in pain as the electricity coursed through her veins. It wasn’t potent enough to be fatal, but it certainly wasn’t a fun experience. With Sasha watching, she called out a warning.

“Don’t attack Rakanishu, he’s lightning enchanted! I’ll handle him!”

The sorceress was absolutely correct. If Bayley’s attack had proved anything, it was that any physical damage would result in charged lightning bolts being hurled towards the assailant. As a ranged attacker, Sasha did not have to deal with that kind of retaliation. As long as Charlotte and Bayley kept Rakanishu away from her, she’d have no problem taking him down. He may be lightning enchanted, but time would tell if he was also lightning resistant.

Sasha flung an assortment of charged bolts at Rakanishu, two of them making contact. Vibrating at the electric shock, Rakanishu cried out in pain, before turning to the source of his anguish. Focusing his gaze on Sasha, he bared his wicked pointed teeth. As quick as lightning, he charged towards Sasha. Her mouth gaped open in shock; her eyes widened in fear. She was going to suffer the same fate as Paige.

Just as the terrifying demon lunged towards her with his scimitar, a metallic clang sounded of steel upon steel, as a sword blocked his path, parrying his attempted blow at Sasha. Unbeknownst to Sasha, Bayley had been watching out of the corner of her eye the whole time. She’d been close enough to Rakanishu to immediately chase after and intercept him. She’d failed Paige; there was no way on sanctuary that she would fail Sasha.

Gasping in shock from the close call, Sasha gathered her wits in record time, knowing that Bayley was depending on her to slay the creature. With the risk of Rakanishu’s lightning enchantment, Bayley couldn’t physically attack the demon. She could only hold him at bay long enough for Sasha to land a killing lightning bolt. With that in mind, Sasha circled around his blue impish form, standing a safe enough distance away to be out of reach. Closing her eyes and focusing on summoning her magic, she raised her staff, pointed it at Rakanishu, and let loose a barrage of dancing lightning bolts. Just like before, two of the crackling bolts of electricity entered Rakanishu’s body, his body contorting at the electrical shock. This time, it didn’t just momentarily stun and enrage him. It was enough to end his reign of terror. Emitting a death shriek, he collapsed to the ground. The lord of the fallen was no more.

Bayley and Sasha breathed out in sighs of relief, their hearts racing. They turned their attention towards Charlotte, who threw her spear with deadly precision at the last remaining carver, his babble of fear clearly audible as he ran as fast as he could away from her, attempting to evade her wrath. The spear connected through his back with a sickening squelch, impaling him.

“Well, that was fun,” Charlotte called out to her companions as she yanked the bloody spear from the carver’s corpse. Bayley and Sasha exchanged an incredulous look. Evidently the blonde had been too lost in own battles to pay attention to Sasha’s near-death experience. In truth, Charlotte had indeed been lost in her own world, paying heed to nothing but slaughtering the carvers, rather than concentrating on their commander.

“Riiight,” Sasha shot back, thinking better than to challenge the amazon for being self-absorbed.

Pulling the scroll of Inifuss out of her satchel, Sasha watched as Akara’s translation began to take root. The Cairn Stones were depicted as circles in the exact same formation as they appeared before her: the five stones in a pentagon formation. The correct order of stones flashed in sequence on the scroll, Akara’s enchantment giving her a visual reference.

Absorbing the information, she placed her hand upon the first stone in the sequence. At her very touch, the rocky surface began to hum with magical energy, a blue light materialising at the stone’s vertical midpoint. The light pulsated, indicating that she was on the right path. Sasha proceeded to place her palm on each stone in the sequence illustrated on the scroll, the audible thrum becoming more frantic and high-pitched with each activated stone. Charlotte and Bayley looked on in amazement, expressions of wonderment at the intricate spell work. As Sasha activated the fifth and final stone, the frenetic thrum ceased immediately. The three adventurers held their breath for a second, before a frightening crack sounded throughout the air, sounding as though the heavens themselves were splitting open. Lightning rained down from the sky, impacting the ground in the centre of the Cairn Stones, before travelling in a circular motion throughout each stone. Sasha, Bayley and Charlotte were forced to cover their eyes from the dazzling white light. The shimmering lightning coalesced in the middle of the stones, before pulling apart to reveal the portal to Tristram. The portal blazed with a red hue, a shimmering white light outlining it.

“Ready?” Bayley asked her companions, a hint of apprehension coating her features. At the same time, there was also a fierce glint of determination in her eyes, knowing what had to be done. She turned to Charlotte and Sasha, both women nodding in affirmation. Their expressions were similar to Bayley’s, all three in tune with one another.

“Just remember,” Charlotte warned, “this place is going to be crawling with demons. Be on your guard, and try not to get separated.” She didn’t need to go into further detail, the other two women stiffened at the unspoken implication. None of them wanted a repeat of the tragic circumstances which led to Paige’s death. And none of them were comfortable voicing their concern. The three took a deep breath, before plunging their bodies into the portal, transporting them to the demon-infested ruins of Tristram.

* * *

Stepping through the portal into Tristram was like stepping into a nightmare. The terrain and landscape were similar to the area they’d left behind, but instead of a fortified Rogue Encampment, they were staring at the burning remains of the once proud town of Tristram. Rubble lined the earth as far as the eye could see. From the inn to the blacksmith’s shop, to the recognisable well in the town centre, now with a wide crack down the side, devoid of all water, all of it lay in ruin. Demons clustered around the dying embers, although some fires kept blazing as though freshly supplied with flammable materials. Thankfully the demons hadn’t spotted the new arrivals yet, and it was best to keep it that way.

“It’s as if a great war were fought here,” Charlotte whispered, keeping her tone low to not attract attention, but still needing to remark on the sight before them.

“Tristram was no match for Diablo’s fury,” Sasha agreed, shaking her head at the devastation.

“What a tragic end to Tristram,” Bayley said, an uncharacteristic solemnness to her tone.

Peering into the distance, Charlotte spotted what they had come here for. Suspended in the air from a crane, trapped inside a wooden cage, was unmistakably the form of Deckard Cain. However, one thing she did not expect to see was another cage, with another occupant. A woman. Even from this distance, she could see the chiselled arms, the broad shoulders, and the long flowing red hair, braided on one side.

“Hey you!” the woman shouted at the group, a distinctive accent to her voice, having spotted them before the demons had. “Get us out of here so I can slap the head off of all these dopes!”

Bayley sighed through her nose in exasperation. Simultaneously, Charlotte lowered her head and pinched the bridge of her nose in bewilderment. Sasha brought her palm to her face and shook her head in frustration. All of them bewildered at the reckless behaviour of the prisoner, almost as if she wanted to get them killed. So much for staying undetected. Predictably, the scores of demons turned to see what their prisoner was shouting at, most grinning menacingly upon spotting the group of adventurers who had wandered into what had become their domain. Shrieks of devilish delight were heard, as the hordes of demons advanced towards them, as threatening a sight as could possibly be.

Impish carvers and their shaman, bone-rattling skeleton warriors and archers, shambling zombies, even the Khazra had come to destroy Tristram and stay within its ruins. The Khazra were a race of bovines who stood on two legs. Commonly referred to as “Goat Demons”, it was rumoured that they began as mutated humans, twisted and warped to serve their subjugator’s ends. Right now, as Sasha recalled what she knew of them from her studies, she concluded that their origin was not important right now. It was far more important that she put an end to those attacking her, staying out of range from the polearms, staves and axes they wielded.

Charlotte, Sasha and Bayley quickly found themselves encircled by the horde of demons that had turned their attention towards them.

“Oh that’s right, you guys focus on those dopes, rather than getting me out of here so I can cut their heads off!” the redhead in the cage yelled while rattling its metallic bars. None of the women were amused with her antics, only serving to irritate them while they were preparing for the fight of their life.

Standing back to back to back, the three were prepared to fight their way out of this, their end goal being to rescue Deckard Cain…and perhaps also the infuriating ginger, if she was lucky.

The demonic entities reached close proximity of the adventurers, and the battle was underway. Bayley used her shield to block any incoming blows, while slashing away to gain quarter so they could push forward. Charlotte deftly swung her spear around, using the spearhead to pierce her opponents’ skin and/or bones. Sasha hurled barrage of crackling lightning bolt after lightning bolt, with a plethora of foes to choose as targets.

Slowly but surely, the three managed to battle their way towards the town square at the centre, where the two cages were raised aloft. Luckily for them, the cages weren’t impenetrable. Rudimentary could be applied to the construction. The way the mechanism worked was that the steel bars only remained in place as long as the cage was raised in the air. All that remained was to use the lever to bring the cages down, whereupon the bars of the cage would raise back up on the pulley system, allowing the occupant to emerge free.

As the closest one to the lever, Charlotte battled her way to the control, stabbing a fallen to its death, sending its brethren scattering to allow her a clear path. Seeing a wave of khazra advancing, she knew she’d have to be swift. Tugging the lever with one hand, she lowered the cages down to the ground, the wood creaking as it moved. The wait for them to lower seemed agonisingly slow in the heat of battle, as she watched Bayley and Sasha hold their ground out of the corner of her eye.

The irritating redhead exited her cage, and turned to Charlotte with a scoff. “About freakin’ time!” Without allowing Charlotte a moment to respond, she quickly took off in the opposite direction, leaving Charlotte stood there dumbfounded, her mouth hanging open at the woman’s lack of gratitude. She didn’t have long though, as she gathered her wits just in time to parry a blow from a goatman’s axe. Using her strength to push him back, she retaliated by plunging her spear into his chest, granting her a small reprieve. She turned to the now free Deckard Cain.

“Deckard Cain! Go to the Rogue camp without delay!” Charlotte urged the old man, his features gaunt from starvation, his grey robes torn from his treatment by the demons, yet hands gripped onto his wooden staff with such force that Charlotte was honestly surprised that it didn’t appear to bend at all.

Nodding in grateful affirmation, Cain turned away from Charlotte, using an elaborate hand gesture to conjure a portal back to the rogue camp. He stepped through the shimmering oval-shaped blue light which had materialised, the portal slamming shut after he exited through it, the exit strategy disappearing almost as quickly as it had come.

“Great,” Charlotte mumbled sarcastically under her breath, “how are we supposed to get back now?”

Glancing back towards the battle, Charlotte spotted a wave of demons advancing towards her, confident smirks across their faces. Far more confident than they ought to be, Charlotte thought. Especially considering that her party had been slaughtering them with ease, despite overwhelming numbers. No sooner had she had this thought, that she noticed that this wave of malevolent evil was being led by a zombie. Not just that, but a far bulkier zombie than she was used to fighting. With thick, strong arms, hulking shoulders, huge biceps and a protruding gut, the undead certainly looked as intimidating in death as he would have in life. Blood covered the right half of his face. His meaty hands looked as though they’d had all of the skin stripped off them, as though he’d punched a solid object until there was nothing left. The end result being a gory mess where skin used to be.

Charlotte dropped into a defensive stance, her feet planted firmly into the ground, spear ready to pierce whoever dared to try to attack her. Unsurprisingly, the stocky zombie seemed eager to try his luck. Charlotte thrust her spear forward, aiming the tip to skewer the bulky zombie’s gut. Her eyes widened in shock as the undead caught the spear before it hit its mark, gripping the middle, stopping Charlotte from thrusting it to give him a second death. The zombie grunted as it summoned an overwhelming show of physical strength, using its leverage over Charlotte to push her back, sending her stumbling backwards towards her friends. Charlotte cursed under her breath, bewildered by the zombie’s brute strength. She’d never battled such a physically powerful undead before.

Despite the progress Bayley and Sasha had made, the demons had managed to regroup and push them back, surrounding them on all sides again.

“This is familiar, huh?” Bayley stammered nervously, looking around at the various demonic forms surrounding them, the situation reminding her of their close call at the Burial Grounds against Blood Raven and her zombie army.

“This time Queenie can’t just strike down their leader and kill them all,” Sasha retorted, uncaring of how Charlotte would take it, given that this appeared to be an unwinnable situation.

Charlotte barely registered the remark, focusing on how she was going to try to fight her way out. Once again, she found herself staring into the vacant expression of the unnaturally strong undead. As Bayley glanced round, she spotted him too.

“Oh no, Griswold!” she murmured in a mournful tone.

“You knew him?” Charlotte questioned in a shocked tone, surprised by Bayley’s recognition.

“Yeah, he was the town’s blacksmith. I came here a couple of times, and he was always good to me,” the paladin explained, her tone lifting at the memory, before her expression darkened as she brought herself back to the present.

“That’s all well and good, but that doesn’t help us now!” Sasha snapped, her fear manifesting as anger. Charlotte and Bayley fell silent, knowing that Sasha was absolutely right. They had to focus on how they would escape from their current predicament, instead of reminiscing on past experiences. The man Bayley had known was dead, a fierce undead monster in his place. The monster who had lumbered near enough to strike.

Charlotte thrust her spear towards the animated corpse of Griswold again, desperately hoping that her precision could counteract his strength. Unfortunately just like before, the undead caught it. Unlike last time, he didn’t push it back. He had no need. Charlotte was trapped, caught between a rock and a hard place, and he knew it. Instead he maintained his iron grip on the spear, not allowing Charlotte to regain control of it, no matter how hard she tugged, no matter what physical strength reserves she dug into, nothing was enough. The bulky zombified Griswold raised a bloody, meaty fist, clearly intending to swing it into Charlotte’s skull with enough force to knock her brains out.

This was it.

They may not have gotten separated, but Charlotte was about to suffer a very similar fate as Paige had. And after the monster was finished with her, it was a pretty well-educated guess that he’d follow-up by ending the lives of her companions in similar fashion.

Charlotte accepted her fate, and waited for it to come, hoping for a quick death.

What came next was something she hadn’t guessed at.

The head of the monstrous zombie Griswold fell to her feet, blood splattering across her face. Looking back up, Charlotte saw the grinning face of the woman she had freed from the cage, a devilish smirk painted across her features.

“Ya didn’t think I wouldn’t repay the favour, did ya?” the mysterious redhead spoke, a swagger to her voice, confident as though there was no immediate threat.

Charlotte glanced to the stranger’s hands, taking note of the weapons which had saved her life. The woman wielded twin flaming axes, both as wicked as the grin the woman was still flashing at Charlotte. Without warning, the woman uttered a bellowing battle shout, before charging headlong into the horde of demons. This took the focus off of Charlotte, Bayley and Sasha, as the demons focused all of their efforts onto the newcomer. The newcomer who had slain their greatest champion with ease.

The ginger warrior seemed to be holding her own. Not only that, but she seemed to delight in taking the fight to the scores of demons bearing down on her. She was actually _taunting_ them while doing so! Cries of “fight me!”, “take this ya dope!”, and “I’ll slap yer head off!” littered the air.

Looking at each other with bemused expressions, the other three shrugged their shoulders before charging back into battle to aid the insane woman who had saved them.

Minutes of battle ensued. Steel bit into demonic flesh. Bodies coursed with lightning as they were violently electrocuted by the sorceress’ magic. Skeletons were reduced to broken piles of bones. Fallen were sent scurrying. The stranger twirled her twin flaming axes around, cutting into the flesh of her foes while simultaneously setting their bodies alight. Charlotte skewered demons like a kebab. Bayley sliced the remaining stragglers with her sword, using her shield to keep herself protected.

Eventually, the four women were left breathing heavily, demonic corpses strewn around them, the town now cleansed and utterly devoid of evil.

“Not bad fighting,” Charlotte panted as she caught her breath, speaking to the axe-wielding redhead. “Completely insane, but effective.”

“Hey, these demons try to step up to the Man, they get the taste slapped outta their mouths,” the woman responded in baffling fashion.

Sasha raised an eyebrow, stifling a laugh at the woman’s brazenness. “The Man?” she questioned in a tone more suited for mockery than curiosity.

“I’m the top dog around here, and anyone who wants to challenge me on that is gonna get knocked down. Now, are any of you women going to tell me different?" the woman replied, brandishing her flaming axes in their direction, causing the three to involuntarily recoil. She quickly settled down, a smirk settling in on her face. “Didn’t think so.”

“Who are you?” Charlotte asked, eager to change the subject to ease the newly introduced tension.

“Becky Lynch,” the redhead warrior replied with a wide grin.

“You’re a Barbarian, aren’t you?” Bayley inquired, having noted the brawny arms and broad shoulders that were normally telltale signs of a barbarian. The barbarians were renowned for being fierce warriors, constantly seeking the glory of battle.

“I am indeed,” Becky confirmed, smiling at the wonderment that crossed Bayley’s face.

“Do you want to join us?” Charlotte blurted out without thinking. Surprise showed on Bayley’s face, while Sasha scoffed in bafflement, clearly not trusting the barbarian. Honestly, it didn’t seem a bad idea to Charlotte. Becky intrigued her, and the thought of a fierce warrior guarding their backs seemed a no-brainer. Clearly Sasha did not agree.

“And why should we invite her to join us? Why should we trust her? How do we know she won’t just hack us to death for the fun of it?” Sasha argued accusatorily, crossing her arms and staring daggers at both Becky and Charlotte, her mistrust on full display.

“Lass, my fight is with the demons, not with you,” Becky responded in a dulcet tone, not wishing to make an enemy out of the sorceress, at a time when they should be working together against the rising tide of evil. The answer seemed to placate Sasha, though she did not uncross her arms. With the situation having calmed down, a mischievous thought occurred to Becky, realising the perfect way to break the tension.

“Just point me to the demons, and I’ll gladly slap their heads off. You see those demons?” Becky asked, pointing to the nearby corpse of a fallen. “Those impish fellas, what they are called?” Becky questioned, knowing full well what the demons were known as, her eyes taking on a mischievous glint.

“Fallen,” Bayley answered, not suspecting what came next.

“Yeah, well when they see me coming, they’ll be _fall-en_ over themselves trying to get away from me!” Becky responded, putting clear emphasis on the pun, dragging the two portions of the word out. A wide grin extended across her face, before she burst out in uproarious laughter, slapping her knee for comic effect.

It didn’t take long for Bayley to join in her laughter. Even Sasha had to turn away to hide a reluctant smile.

“Please don’t do that again,” Charlotte asked insincerely. Truthfully, she was just as humoured by the pun, and looking forward to getting to know the eccentric ginger barbarian, even if it meant listening to more outrageous puns.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did we think? Did any of the events come as a surprise?
> 
> If you liked it, then please leave a comment and kudos, and don't forget to subscribe! Please leave feedback, I'm eager to know what people are enjoying, or what I can improve upon to make future chapters better. Am I explaining things well enough to make it accessible for non-players?


	4. The Forgotten Tower - Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bayley, Sasha and Charlotte get used to the addition of Becky. The group accept a quest before being ambushed on the way, and make an intriguing discovery - with mixed reactions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is back! Long time since last update, so I won't blame anyone for having to go back and re-read the story first.
> 
> I did originally plan to keep the relationships between the Horsewomen purely platonic. But if you haven't noticed new tags, I now plan to work towards Baysha and Charlynch.
> 
> This story is now dedicated to my good friend, Sith. She's been a huge supporter of this work, and it's her infectious enthusiasm that brought me back to it.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> -HunTAH

“Would’ja look at this!” the eager flame-haired barbarian stated, a look of awe stretched across her features with a big smile as she looked around her new location in wonder. Upon her arrival to the Rogue Encampment, she looked every bit a kid in a candy store.

Her enthusiasm was plain to see on her face, keen eyes taking in every detail in her surroundings, mouth wide open in a big smile showing off her pearly whites. Charlotte and Bayley exchanged glances, both women amused at the enthralled woman who’d proven deadly proficient with her twin flaming axes.

They’d met less than a couple of hours ago, Becky saving them all from otherwise certain death in the charred ruins of Tristram. The same woman who leapt into battle with glee, hacking apart scores of demons, was now busy marvelling at the simple makeshift encampment. It would appear that the barbarian had a different perspective when it came to the simple things in life. The sorceress in their party on the other hand clearly did not share the same enthusiasm, quietly scoffing at Becky’s engrossed observations.

“A bunch of rickety walls and homeless dispirited Rogues. How exciting,” Sasha muttered sarcastically under her breath, accompanied by an eye roll. Unfortunately for her, she wasn’t as subtle as she might have hoped, earning a disapproving elbow to the shoulder from the paladin walking in step beside her.

“Speak up would ya lass?” Becky called over her shoulder, “Can barely hear the snark in yer voice when ya mutter like that.” The barbarian shot a grin at the fuming sorceress behind her, who pouted childishly at being caught out. Becky then directed her attention over to Bayley. “I hope you raised her to be better than this.”

“Excuse you?” Sasha interrupted before Bayley could retort, her eyes locked in an intense glare at the audacity of the newcomer.

“Hush child, the adults are talkin’,” Becky shot a wink at Sasha, though this light-hearted gesture did nothing to dissipate Sasha’s anger. In fact, it only served to fan the flames. So intense was it now, that the others could feel the smaller woman’s outrage radiating from her body.

They’d known this woman all of two hours; how dare she speak to her in such a condescending manner!

“Bitch, I’m old enough to shoot some lightning straight through your-“ Sasha started, taking aggressive steps towards Becky before she felt the strong arms of Bayley restrain her.

“Calm down lass, I’m only joking with ya,” Becky smiled genuinely at the younger woman. Sasha clearly did not feel like talking any longer, letting out a huff before stomping away from the other three.

Bayley regarded Becky apologetically. “Sorry about her, she’s…a complicated person,” she finished, having to search for find words to adequately describe Sasha without denigrating her. Their friendship was barely a couple of days old, and they still had a lot of finding out to do with each other. She knew Sasha had trust issues almost from the start, but there had to be a reason why the young sorceress had reacted so bitterly to Becky’s remarks. “I’ll go see if I can calm her down.”

Becky watched the paladin turn and scamper off in the direction Sasha headed in before turning to Charlotte watching beside her. “Looks like it’s just me and you now, blondie.” The statement was punctuated with a teasing wink. But it didn’t feel like the same type of wink that Becky shot at Sasha a minute ago. This one felt like it was accompanied by an air of flirtatiousness, or was that Charlotte’s mind playing tricks on her?

Not wanting to dwell on it, Charlotte scrambled her mind to think of something to say to deter her overthinking. “C’mon, lemme show you around.” She didn’t quite know what it was yet, but there was something about the redheaded barbarian that intrigued her, kept her interested in learning more.

* * *

“Sasha!”

“What?!” the purple haired sorceress shouted back as she whirled round to face Bayley.

Bayley caught up to Sasha, meeting her eyes. “What was that?” She tried to keep her tone calm and neutral, to make it sound as non-judgemental as possible, difficult as though that may be.

“I know, can you believe her?” The bite to Sasha’s tone was palpable.

“Sasha…” Bayley said disapprovingly, in a tone a parent might use to reprimand an unruly child. As far as Bayley was concerned, Sasha was certainly behaving like one.

“What do you want me to say?” Sasha raged at Bayley, gesturing outwardly with both arms in a taunting gesture. “If her stupid smug face wasn’t enough, she had the gall to talk down to me like that!”

“She was joking around Sasha, that’s what she’s done from the moment we met her. She didn’t mean anything by it,” Bayley exhaled sharply to try to retain the calm that threatened to escape her.

“No, _friends_ joke around. As far as I’m concerned, that woman is a nobody.”

“ _We’ve_ joked around together. What does that make _me_?” Bayley tilted her head to the side, eyeing Sasha for even the subtlest of movements that would give away her position.

The two maintained eye contact for several seconds before Sasha broke the impromptu staring contest, grimacing as she was persuaded to open up. “You’re my friend, Bayley, but I-“

The paladin didn’t give her any more time. “Good, then as your friend, I’m asking you to tell me why. Why aren’t you giving Becky a chance? Why did you give Charlotte a hard time when we met her?”

Sasha opened her mouth before closing it, lost for words at Bayley’s forwardness. She stayed quiet for several moments as she thought long and hard on how to put her internal feelings into words.

“I just have a hard time trusting people sometimes,” the younger woman said quietly, the honesty to her words difficult for her to share.

“I know you do, but that doesn’t explain why you have to be so cold towards them. You don’t have to trust someone to be polite to them.”

Sasha found herself caught off-guard by the firm rebuke from her friend. The paladin may sometimes be too nice for her good in Sasha’s opinion, but she honestly appreciated the older woman’s willingness to tell things as she saw them, to cut through any bullshit. But did that give her the right to demand such personal information? To criticise her behaviour without the full facts? Did she deserve an answer?

In that moment, Sasha made her decision. Although she had carefully constructed her walls, it was quickly becoming clear that Bayley was intent on ploughing right through them, no matter what hurdle the sorceress could throw at her. By no means would Sasha open her heart permanently, but she supposed that Bayley had proved herself enough to earn a rare glimpse into the inner workings of Sasha Banks. She always kept her cards close to her chest, but perhaps she could put them down for a brief peek.

The purple-haired sorceress relaxed her fierce scowl. She took a deep breath, before launching into the explanation the brunette paladin had been searching for.

“I put my trust in someone before,” Sasha began tentatively, as though recalling the memory still made her uneasy. A bitter snort escaped her nostrils. “Before I wised up.”

“Sasha-“ Bayley opened her mouth, presumably to protest at the choice of words before being fixed with an angry stare by the enraged sorceress.

“Did you want me to give you an explanation or not?!” Sasha snapped, her eyes so furious that they looked to be bristling with an imitation of the lightning bolts she liked to shoot at her enemies. The localised air seemed to crackle with electricity, as though the sorceress’s rage was causing her to lose grip on her control over the elements. Realising her mistake, Bayley remained silent and settled for nodding her head. “Well keep quiet!” Sasha snarled.

Bayley’s cooperation calmed Sasha down, her furious outburst withering back to neutrality, the air calming down as well. The irritable girl took a couple of even breaths to calm herself down enough to continue her tale.

“Alexa, her name was. She seemed sweet and innocent. She had everybody fooled – including me,” Sasha’s eyes flashed in a moment of anger at her past innocence, “I was just a kid, barely able to conjure a single spell.”

Bayley held off from pointing out that Sasha was hardly of age right now, figuring that it would only further Sasha’s bad mood. Worse still, it would ensure that Sasha wouldn’t allow even this fleeting glimpse of her inner feelings. Bayley knew she had to keep quiet and listen attentively if she wanted to get down to Sasha’s core.

“I was stupid back then, believing everything she told me, right from when I first met her.”

The paladin had to really fight off the urge to tell Sasha she wasn’t stupid, that she shouldn’t be too hard on her actions as a child. As difficult as it was for someone used to supporting her friends, reassuring them wherever possible, she just about managed to keep her mouth closed.

“I thought she was my friend.” Sasha’s expressed shifted, turning from one of shameful regret, to one of blazing hatred, eyes narrowed, lips curved into a snarl. “But then she manipulated me into stealing an artefact from my order. When we got out of there, she turned on me. If it hadn’t been for my mentors arriving just in time, I wouldn’t have survived the ambush.”

A single tear flowed down Sasha’s right cheek. Not a tear of sadness, but one containing a microscopic river of shame and anger.

“It took months to pay for my sins and get them to trust me again. That whole experience taught me one valuable lesson: don’t trust anybody.”

It was impossible for Bayley to not recoil at the statement. Was that really what Sasha truly believed?

“But you trust me?” Bayley’s words were far more of a question rather than a statement of a belief. Sasha would be lying if she said it didn’t sting a little bit. But she’d said those words, and she still firmly believed in them. She would not back down.

“You’re a very rare exception. And I am _not_ sorry for not blindly trusting those two at first glance, like a stupid idiot.” Sasha’s tone was utterly unapologetic, spoken with complete conviction, a harsh bite to the words to make it clear it was a point on which she was unwilling to budge. “Charlotte earned my trust. But Becky the Barbarian has not, and she doesn’t have the right to speak to me like that until she does.” The way Sasha added in Becky’s heritage after her name had a generous helping of spitefulness to it, as opposed to politely stating a fact.

Bayley pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. She knew Sasha could be hot-headed, but she wasn’t expecting it to be this difficult to persuade her to be civil. “Sasha, she was only trying to be friendly. Can’t you just be polite to her and give her the benefit of the doubt?”

“No.” Sasha’s eyes flashed with a stern glint, a severe frown in her features to make her position crystal clear. “Sooner or later, everybody,” Bayley opened her mouth while holding up a finger to protest before Sasha hastily amended her speech, “ _almost everybody_ , is going to use their “friends” for their own personal gain. It’s best if I don’t readily give them that option.”

“But she saved our lives Sasha!”

“Only so she could keep us alive for whatever scheme she’s plotting.”

Bayley groaned. This was not going to be as easy as she thought…

* * *

Meanwhile at the opposite end of the Rogue Encampment, Becky and Charlotte were continuing to explore the small but cosy area. They were exchanging polite but enjoyable and engaging small talk when Becky’s question stopped Charlotte dead in her tracks.

“So what’s yer reading on Sasha?”

Caught completely unaware, Charlotte had to do a double take to ensure that she’d heard correctly, momentarily stunned by the abrupt change in conversation. “Uhh, I…” Charlotte spluttered before pausing for a moment to regather her wits. “Bayley was certainly right when she called her ‘complicated’ a few minutes ago.”

A hearty laugh escaped Becky’s throat at the diplomatic response, the type of laugh causing her chest to vibrate as the soothing sounds filled the air. The sight caused Charlotte to muse that she wouldn’t mind causing it to happen again in future.

There was still a hint of laughter in Becky’s tone as she agreed with Charlotte’s sentiments. “She definitely is. But what do YOU think?” Becky was certainly proving what type of person she was, not shying away from being forward, no shame in making it clear that she wanted to discover what was going on in the tall blonde’s head.

Charlotte found it impossible to stifle the smile that curved her lips upwards at the clear indication that her new friend already cared what she thought. She focused herself on answering the question instead of getting carried away.

“She is a difficult person to deal with, there’s no question about that. As infuriating and downright annoying as she is, I feel like she has a good heart. She just has to trust someone enough to unlock the door for them. If it wasn’t for the way she acts around Bayley, I wouldn’t believe such a thing would be possible.”

Becky stayed quiet for a moment, her face creased slightly in thought as she absorbed Charlotte’s words and compared them to her own observations. “I think you may be right. I just don’t think we’re gonna be an effective team if she’s going to get offended at every little joke I make.”

“Honestly, I think she might just be a little scared of you,” Charlotte let out a laugh after remembering the look in Sasha’s eyes, “seeing you so easily hack your way through those horde of demons at Tristram. It’s obvious that she takes a while to warm up to people. And as much of a brat as she can behave at times, she’s still quite young. I think a little immaturity is okay.”

Becky raised her eyebrows. “So long as we don’t encourage it further?”

“Right. She treated me with contempt from the moment I met her yesterday, and I just let it slide. She settled down after I saved her ass, but when she started acting up again earlier today, I put my foot down and she soon stopped. You just gotta be firm if she steps out of line.”

“Noted. So yer still tryin’ ta figure her out?”

Charlotte nodded in lieu of verbal affirmation. “I think I’m getting there.”

“Well at least now you have me with you to sort her out if she misbehaves,” Becky bounced her eyebrows to make it clear that she was joking. As warm as Charlotte had been to her jokes, she acknowledged that she was still a relative stranger. It would be unwise to not make everything as clear as she possibly could, to avoid misunderstandings like the one she’d just experienced with the easily riled sorceress.

Charlotte snorted in amusement. “I think she’d swing for you if she heard you say that.”

“She could try,” Becky smirked before relaxing her face as she changed topic. “What say you show me to the blacksmith? I reckon that spear of yers needs repairing.” Becky gestured to the warped weapon in Charlotte’s possession, indents present where the wood had chipped off.

“I guess you’re right.” Charlotte agreed, and the pair trudged up towards the blacksmith shop in the distance, where she could see the form of Charsi working away at the anvil.

Upon seeing the two approach, Charsi smiled as she recognised Charlotte. However, the moment she clapped eyes on the flame-haired stranger walking beside her her eyes stretched wide in wonderment, entranced at the sight before her. She let out a gasp full of amazement as soon as they reached earshot.

“Wow, you’re a Barbarian, huh?” She extended a hand, which Becky grasped and shook firmly, her smile reaching her eyes at the warm introduction. Charsi’s voice contained the same sense of wonderment as her eyes, as though meeting a barbarian was a goal on her bucket list. “It’s really great to meet you. I’ve seen a few of your kind around here lately. I’m a little jealous…I wish I could go off adventuring with you.”

Regret was evident in the blacksmith’s tone, and her last words clearly contained an element of longing, as though adventuring was her true desire in life. But it was clear that she felt a responsibility to use her talents for blacksmithing, and that took precedence over her personal inclinations. The momentary pondering quickly passed as she remembered she was in the middle of a conversation. “Oh by the way, I’m Charsi, the blacksmith here in camp.”

“I can tell, judging by those boulder shoulders of yers,” Becky said, her tone light-hearted rather than exasperated as her words might be misinterpreted in response to the obvious fact. “I’m Becky.” She flashed a genuine smile at the bubbly blacksmith. Becky was always happy to meet new people, and found herself especially pleased when they were as cheerful and friendly as the woman she was making her acquaintance.

“I can also tell that you’re of barbarian blood, are you not?” Becky gestured to the blacksmith’s broad shoulders and thick muscular arms. Though it stood to reason that any blacksmith would be well-built due to their physically demanding occupation, Charsi was too brawny for an ordinary woman.

Charsi nodded in confirmation of Becky’s assessment. “You know, I’ve been with the Sisters for as long as I can remember. But Akara told me that my real parents were Barbarians from the northern tribes and that they were killed when I was very young. Sometimes I wonder what my life would have been like if I had been raised as a Barbarian.”

A pang of sympathy shot through the two women listening to the blacksmith’s tale. Neither could imagine the thought of losing their parents at such a young age. To lose such a vital part of your life before you’re even fully aware of the world around you, the very idea was unfathomable to both Becky and Charlotte. Such a heart-rending experience that one would have to experience first-hand to really understand. Having a sense of loss without really knowing what it is that was lost.

Unable to bear the eerie silence, Becky spoke up. “D’you think you would prefer that to the life you’ve lived?”

Charsi’s face was uncertain, as though she really didn’t have an answer. But Becky supposed, there really wasn’t one. How could there be? Without knowing what could have been, you can’t really compare it to what was.

“I don’t know,” Charsi verbalised. “I love being a blacksmith…but sometimes I just want to get out and explore the world, you know?” The amazon and the barbarian both gave terse head nods, both wearing matching watery smiles of sympathy. It was an awkward exchange, Charsi sharing the fact that she wanted what both Charlotte and Becky had, but knowing that the responsibility of serving as the camp’s blacksmith would prevent her from indulging in her desire. While they suspected it wasn’t weighing Charsi down too heavily, it was bittersweet nonetheless. They could certainly empathise with the blacksmith’s want to depart on an adventure. Now that they knew it was in her blood, that made it all that much more plaintive.

As a barbarian herself, Becky felt it even more so than Charlotte did. She knew first-hand how proud a people and battle-thirsty her kind were. While the various barbarian tribes had permanent settlements of course, most of her people still ventured out from time to time. But Charsi had never had the chance to experience that, that which was her birth right as a fellow descendant of the ancient immortal Barbarian king, Bul-Kathos. But now was not the time. The rogues needed their blacksmith now more than ever, with evil constantly lingering on their doorstep. Evil which Becky, Charlotte, Bayley, and even Sasha, planned to hack away from the land.

Before Becky could open her mouth to give some words of encouragement and reassurance to the blacksmith who she felt a great deal of sympathy for, she heard the shuffling of a couple of pairs of footsteps approaching from behind them. The two sets of footfalls were easily distinguishable. One was light and intermittent, as though the owner of said feet was reluctant to approach. The other set was heavy and assured, as though insisting that the other person approach the forge.

Charlotte was the first to turn, seeing the sight confirm what her ears had been telling her. The forms of Sasha and Bayley approached, Bayley with a firm hand on Sasha’s back guiding her forward, with the purple haired sorceress’ face communicating the fact that she’d rather be anywhere but here, and clearly didn’t hold any enthusiasm for meeting back up with the barbarian and the amazon. The pair looked every bit a disappointed parent guiding a sullen teenager to a peer she had wronged.

“Charsi, could you see what you can do to fix this spear?” Charlotte handed over said weapon to the blacksmith, wanting to give the perky blacksmith an out before engaging in the encroaching, yet inevitable, conversation coming their way.

“Sure! Give me a few minutes,” Charsi’s eyes lit up, eager at the chance to engross herself in her work after the melancholy topic of conversation. Charlotte nodded, before turning back to look back at Sasha and Bayley.

The two stopped, and the four shared tense glances before Bayley loudly cleared her throat. “Sasha has something she would like to say.”

“Actually, it’s something that Bayley would like me to say. I on the other hand-“ Sasha’s defiant response was quickly halted as Bayley harshly swung her elbow into Sasha’s arm, causing a yelp of pain. “OW! Okay, alright!” Sasha hissed as she fixed Bayley with a burning glare. Bayley matched the glower with an equal parts intense, firmly disapproving look, refusing to back down.

The impromtu stand-off stretched for several seconds before Sasha swung her focus to look at Becky, making an effort to relax her expression somewhat, albeit not entirely successful, before forcing the words out. “I’m sorry for overreacting,” Sasha looked down to her feet before murmuring under her breath “at your piss-poor attempt at humour.”

“Sasha…” Bayley growled lowly as a warning. Meanwhile Charlotte could only shake her head in shame at Sasha’s continued petulant, childish behaviour.

“Fine!” Sasha shouted as she threw her hands up in exasperation. “I’m sorry, alright?”

“Alright,” Becky had an unexpectedly serious expression on her face, her mouth and eyes set in a neutral state, holding none of the mirth and smirk they’d been privy to earlier. “An’ I’m sorry too.”

“What?” Sasha gasped in disbelief of Becky reciprocating. Bayley and Charlotte seemed fairly stunned too. From everyone involved, Sasha had been the one in the wrong. Yet here was their new friend apologising. But why?

“Something you gotta understand about me is that I have a tendency to joke around with everyone, whether they’re my best friends or if I’ve only just met them. But I understand how that might not be for everyone. I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”

All three women blinked in amazement at the softness on display from the flame-haired juggernaut of destruction standing before them. The stunned reaction earned a hearty chuckle from Becky, knowing she’d successfully caught them all off-guard.

Becky Lynch prided herself on being a complicated person. It would be all too easy to just be one thing. A fearsome, aggressive warrior who was all too eager to hack as many heads off of as many hapless demons as she could track. But she also prided herself on having a healthy reserve of compassion, and tried to be as good a friend as she could, to those she deemed worthy to get close to. She wasn’t yet at that point with this intrepid band of adventurers, but something told her that they might be worth giving a chance. This olive branch was her way of easing the tension between them. As proud a warrior as Becky was, she didn’t feel any shame about showing a softer side.

“I have no problem with joking,” Sasha eventually spoke up. “I just feel that that privilege has to be earned. We’ve only just met, and I still don’t really know you. It’s too early for those kinds of jokes.” It was a sobering experience to hear Sasha explain herself, rather than using her irritation and occasional awkwardness to fuel misplaced anger. Despite Sasha’s earlier outburst and sullen behaviour afterwards, Bayley felt a hint of pride for the young woman’s baby steps. Sure, she doubted it would have happened were it not for Becky extending a metaphorical olive branch, but progress was progress, nonetheless.

Becky coughed, suddenly feeling that the air was growing too thick for her liking. She gave a curt head nod. “So long as we understand each other.”

Thankfully, they were all saved from the awkward silence that threatened to befall them by the elderly form of Deckard Cain, the man they’d saved from Tristram, hobbling towards them, using his staff as a walking stick.

“I thank you, friends, for coming to my aid.” His voice was gravelly, unsteady with age. Yet it held a sincere warmth that relayed his gratitude, especially when coupled with the twinkle in his eyes. The twinkle soon vanished, his eyes taking on a much darker shade, as his mind turned to more dismal thoughts.

“Regrettably, I could do nothing to prevent the disaster which devastated Tristram. It would appear that our greatest fears have come to pass. Diablo, the Lord of Terror, has once again been set loose upon the world!”

The four adventurers exchanged similarly worried expressions, fear coursing through their veins. If they were of less brave character, they’d be considering abandoning their quest with this grim confirmation. But their valiant strength of character prevailed. No matter how insurmountable the odds appeared, they would not stop their war against the darkness enveloping the world. Even if the instigator was a lord of Hell.

“As you know,” Cain continued, the grateful glint in his eyes showing his appreciation for the four women staying put and not protesting at his ill tidings. “Some time ago Diablo was slain beneath Tristram. And when our hero emerged triumphant from the labyrinth beneath town, we held a grand celebration that lasted several days.” Glee momentarily creeped into the old man’s voice as he recounted the happy days following their victory.

“Yet, as the weeks passed, our hero became increasingly aloof. He kept his distance from the rest of the townsfolk and seemed to lapse into a dark, brooding depression. I thought that perhaps his ordeal had been so disturbing that he simply could not put it out of his mind.”

Cain shook his head, implication alone enough to communicate how wrong he had been in his original assessment. “The hero seemed more tormented every passing day. I remember he awoke many times – screaming in the night – always something about ‘the East’.” The old man paused his tale to calm his racing heart at the tragic memories. Memories that they weren’t currently so far removed from in time.

“One day, he simply left. And shortly thereafter, Tristram was attacked by legions of foul demons. Many were slain, and the demons left me to die in that cursed cage.” The personal trauma overcame Deckard for a moment, and Bayley rushed forward to drape an arm across the old scholar’s back, offering her support in case he needed it. He acknowledged it with a quiet “thank you,” before looking back up at the attentive pairs of eyes hanging on his every word.

“I believe now that Tristram’s hero was that Dark Wanderer who passed this way before the Monastery fell.” There it was again, that ‘Dark Wanderer’ who seemed to be the root cause of all the demons rampaging throughout the land. The Dark Wanderer who Warriv had referred to upon Sasha’s initial entry into the Rogue Encampment a couple of days ago.

Deckard reached forward a few inches, to make sure his imminent dire warning would be communicated as clearly, and without question, as possible. “I fear even worse, my friends. I fear that Diablo has taken possession of the hero who sought to slay him. If true, Diablo will become more powerful than ever before. You _must_ stop him, or all will be lost!” The old man’s voice quaked, not with age, but with fear of what could come to pass, should the four adventurers before him fail in their task.

Lost for words at the sense of dark foreboding permeating the air following the frightful situation with disastrous potential, the four women could do little more than nod to acknowledge the urging of the wise Horadrim sage. Satisfied that his warning had been heeded, Deckard Cain turned and hobbled back towards the centre of the encampment.

“Well, easy as that then?” Becky joked nervously once the elderly scholar was out of earshot. “Going after one of the Lords of Hell, that is one _hell_ of a mission!” The redhead stretched a self-satisfied grin as she looked around at her companions. Seeing the disapproving looks on their faces, ranging from Sasha’s scowl, to Bayley’s frown, quickly made her deflate. “Too soon?”

“We’re in deep shi-“ Charlotte started before a harsh clang of metal sounded behind her.

“Oh blast!” Charsi exclaimed in frustration.

“What’s the matter?” Bayley asked earnestly, turning to face the blacksmith.

“I’ve repaired your spear,” Charsi answered, facing Charlotte, “but I can’t do as good a job on it as I would be able to otherwise.”

“What do you mean?” Sasha piped up almost too eagerly. As much as she deeply desired to wipe the demonic filth that plagued these lands, Deckard Cain’s warning had her rattled. Though she would never admit it, the thought of going after one of the three Prime Evils, one of the Lords of Hell, terrified her down to her core. That wouldn’t stop her from trying, of course. She was Sasha Banks, she’d never backed down, no matter how scared she’d been. But right now, she’d happily take on any task to distract her from the racing panic in her mind.

“When I fled the Monastery, I left behind the Horadric Malus, my enchanting smithing hammer,” Charsi responded, referencing the night the demons invaded the Rogue Monastery, forcing them to flee. “If you can retrieve it for me, I’ll use it’s magic to strengthen your equipment.”

“Of course we’ll find it for you Charsi,” Bayley answered, causing the blacksmith’s features to light up; a fireball of enthusiasm.

“That’s great, thank you for agreeing to undertake this quest!” Charsi beamed, not for the first time showing her elation for the party of adventurers who’d all come together to help the camp, giving them all hope for the first time in weeks.

“Anything for the war effort against the demons,” Becky piped up, her disgust for said demons clear in her voice.

Charsi’s look of warmth quickly morphed into a serious frown of foreboding. “The Monastery can confuse even those who know it well. Stay alert in there.”

Appreciative of the helpful warning, the four bid their farewells before making their preparation to embark on their journey to the Rogue Monastery.

* * *

“Are we there yet?”

The childish jesting on the part of the whirlwind of destruction that was their grinning flame-haired barbarian was proving to be incredibly endearing to Charlotte.

They’d been walking for the best part of an hour. Striding across the moorland, they’d seldom encountered any wicked demons, horrors from beyond the grave, or aggressive wildlife. A clear representation of how they’d influenced the land, by removing such antagonistic forms of life. But in Sasha’s opinion, there was still one here, and she was walking without a care in the world right in front of her, her twin flaming axes burning brightly in the dark. Sasha was seriously wondering if she could get away with shooting a lightning bolt at her new ‘ally’.

As if she could read Sasha’s mind, Bayley laid a placating hand on her arm, while simultaneously chuckling softly at Becky’s behaviour. “That’s the fourth time you’ve asked that.”

“An’ are we there yet? I don’t think so!” Becky fired back in a light-hearted high-pitched tone, deliberately breaking her voice to add additional comedy, the lilt of her thick accent resulting in what Charlotte considered to be a silky smooth, soothing tone.

Feeling the younger woman, who she hadn’t taken her grip off, tense in irritation, Bayley realised she needed to say something to prevent another blow-up. As much as Bayley appreciated Becky trying to keep the atmosphere light, she also understood that Sasha didn’t yet feel the same way. Although she hoped Sasha would eventually calm down and mellow enough to not get so easily riled by the redhead, she understood that compromises would have to be made if they were going to make steps towards that goal. And in her currently irked emotional state, Bayley didn’t trust Sasha to be level-headed enough.

“Well maybe you don’t have to point it out quite so much?” Bayley asked, her tone as diplomatic as possible to get the point across that she wasn’t personally bothered.

To her dismay, the very woman who she was trying to speak on behalf of chose this moment to pipe up and add her two pieces of gold. “Yeah, ever thought that maybe you’re just as obnoxious as your hair?” Bayley audibly groaned at the continued immaturity from the young woman, so soon after the genuine exchange of honesty between Becky and Sasha. One step forward, two steps back.

“Oh, this comin’ from the girl with purple hair?” Becky took the insult in her stride, firing back without any real malice, but with enough bite to tell the irritable sorceress that she was happy to give as good as she got.

“At least I’m not overcompensating!” Sasha raised her voice, stomping her foot in annoyance. “I mean, that hair coupled with _literal_ flaming axes?!”

Bayley couldn’t help but shake her head in her hands. She’d sensed things had to get worse before they could get better. Now she wasn’t so sure they would get better at all.

“What’s the matter? Feel intimidated?” Becky grinned wickedly, clearly enjoying teasing the young sorceress.

Sasha scoffed. “Only in your dreams.”

“Well maybe if you were there-“ Becky started what would undoubtedly be a smartass retort before an abrupt shushing from Bayley broke up the brewing tension.

“Quiet!” the paladin hissed in a tone of authority powerful enough to make both women immediately comply and abandon their agitated exchange. And she had very good reason to demand silence.

The faint sound of hooves trampling across grass could be heard, growing louder and louder. That usually only meant one thing in these lands.

“Khazra!” Charlotte yelled as the clan of menacing bipedal bovines descended on them. Caught out in the open, they’d been easy to spot from afar, and the increasingly loud bickering between Becky and Sasha had made it much easier for the creatures to track them down.

The cunning Goatmen looked frighteningly imposing. With sharp curved horns jutting out of their temples, tight muscles stretched everywhere atop the pale skin of the burly creatures. Most of the attackers brandished bardiches, some wielded axes, and others curled their claws around wicked spears. And if that wasn’t enough, their height allowed them to tower over the four women. There were certainly enough massing to attack the four adventurers to pose a serious problem to their safety. The four readied their weapons, assuming a defensive stance.

Wasting no time at all, the first few advanced with murderous intent. Unlike the weak Fallen, the brittle Skeletons and the rotting reanimated corpses they’d fought so far, the Khazra proved to be far more durable; their tough, brawny flesh considerably more difficult to slice, stab or electrocute. This certainly did not deter Becky, Sasha, Bayley and Charlotte.

Sasha released a wave of lightning bolts at the first wave, hoping to weaken the brutes before they reached them, where it would be more problematic for the sorceress’ ranged attacks. The dazzling bright crackling lights danced towards the creatures, all hitting their targets. The Goatmen were stunned in place, throwing their horned heads back and roaring in pain as the electricity burned through their veins. Unfortunately they all recovered quickly, their eyes glaring with hatred, magnifying their pre-existing intent to harm.

The moment the Khazra were within striking distance, Becky did not hesitate to bellow a war shout as she swung her burning axes, managing to hack deep into the bicep of the nearest enemy. A roar of agony was bellowed into the air, the Goatman losing his grip on his axe as the fire seared his flesh. Knowing that even an unarmed Khazra was still a dangerous one, Becky wasted no time in swinging her axes up and back down, biting deep into the back of the hunched over injured creature’s neck. This was enough to kill, releasing a cry of anguish. The barbarian quickly moved onto the next enemy.

Charlotte had moved over to the opposite side of Becky, she too choosing to charge to meet the enemy attack force head-on. She ducked under the swing of a Goatman’s bardiche, the weapon arcing through the air where Charlotte’s head had resided a split second ago. Unfortunately for the Goatman, this left him vulnerable to a counterattack. Charlotte thrust her spear up, sinking into the creature’s chest. The beast bellowed in pain as the amazon yanked her spear back out again, knowing that it would not be enough. Quick enough before the weakened Khazra could ignore the pain long enough to swing his bardiche again, Charlotte plunged her bloodied spear into the area of the creature’s chest where his heart resided. This proved to be a direct hit. The Goatman bleated as he fell, his life blotting out as his heart beat its last. Charlotte almost felt sorry for the pitiful creature upon hearing such a sound. _Almost._ But then she reminded herself how wicked the Khazra really were, given that they were renowned for stealing children, and went straight back to combat.

Bayley took her job as protector very seriously, staying right beside Sasha the whole time as the sorceress continued to charge and fire off dazzling dancing lights full of lethal lightning. At least, they would be lethal to lesser creatures. But they were still doing a good job of stunning the healthy Khazra and taking down any injured by Becky or Charlotte. But nevertheless, Sasha would never be in a good position to defend herself; the unarmoured body of the ranged mage exposed. If any of the Khazra managed to break through and reach Sasha, the young woman was as good as dead. Armed with a sword and a shield, Bayley could not only defend herself, but also Sasha if need be.

The paladin had been doing a good job of fending off the enemy attacks, when she noticed two of the beasts storming towards her and Sasha. This presented an immediate dilemma. Would she prioritise defending herself or the friend she was growing increasingly close to? She didn’t have much time to decide, the two attackers reaching them quicker than she’d have liked. The one targeting her swung his axe, Bayley raising her sword in time to parry it. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the other hulking creature prepare to thrust his spear through Sasha’s comparably small body. As quick as the lightning her friend liked to shoot, Bayley shot her shield in front of Sasha, only just getting the defensive object up in time to block the deadly weapon. This bought Sasha enough time to release a charged bolt, the point-blank range contorting the creature’s features in death as his body spasmed.

Drawing her attention back to the axe-wielding Goatman she’d parried, Bayley threw back her head just in time to dodge the next strike, using the opening to leap to the side, hacking her sword into the creature’s side. Dodging the Khazra’s clumsy retaliation, Bayley rapidly slashed away at every bit of exposed flesh she could find, blood flowing freely from every incision. The accumulated injuries proved to be fatal, and with another enemy felled, Bayley went straight back to protecting Sasha.

The four women continued battling the mob of Khazra, thankful that this particular clan was not as disciplined and adept at combat as more dangerous clans. But the sheer multitude made them dangerous enough, keeping the four adventurers fighting like their lives depended on it – because they did. The numbers of the Khazra began to thin, and victory seemed near.

Sasha scanned her allies to judge who needed her magical assistance more, and her eyes focused as she had a clear answer.

Becky was currently engaged in combat with a bardiche-wielding Goatman. Although she looked to be winning the fight, she was too engrossed to notice another of the creatures sneaking up to her left, even as she managed to mortally wound the enemy she was currently fighting.

“BECKY, DUCK!” Sasha yelled as loud as she could to get the fiery-haired barbarian’s attention. Becky’s instincts proved strong enough to heed the words without question.

The redhead ducked in time for the charged lightning bolt to zoom through the air above her head, blasting straight into the Goatman attempting to catch her unawares. The electrical attack proved to be deadly enough to kill, a trembling bleat of surprise sounding as the creature crumpled to the floor.

Becky’s eyes widened in shock as she stared at the woman who she had been bickering incessantly with only minutes before. The same woman who had just saved her life. She also registered the fact that Sasha wasn’t quick enough to wipe the shock off of her own face, hastily rearranging her features, shifting into a scowl.

“Do you really have such a thick head that you couldn’t sense that one sneaking up on you?!” Sasha shouted angrily, before shifting her expression into an arrogant smirk. “Or do you need me to fight your battles for you?”

Not rising to the bait, Becky shot back a grateful head nod in response. She wasn’t going to fall for it, she knew exactly what the hot-headed sorceress was doing. Sasha was conjuring anger to avoid a possible outpouring of emotion from Becky in gratitude, then transforming that anger into arrogance to save face. Becky didn’t need to know the woman that intimately to recognise the tactic for what it was. It was a ploy Becky had used herself on multiple occasions.

The battle was won, the gory remains of the Khazra dotted around. Bayley stood panting, wiping the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand as she recovered from the strenuous combat.

Meanwhile Becky and Sasha had not taken their eyes on each other, both women locked in a glaring contest; their strong personalities clashing for the third time that day.

Bemused by the persisting tension, Bayley suddenly came to the realisation that one of their party was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s Charlotte?” Bayley’s voice finally broke the two hard-headed women out of their bubble before looking back at each other with equally worried glances.

They then turned to survey the battle’s aftermath, joining the paladin in her search for their amazon. The three women looked around frantically, not able to spot the body of Charlotte Flair anywhere – dead or alive.

“Queenie?” Sasha called out.

“Charlotte!” Bayley called out.

“Big blonde boulder!” Becky called out.

“Over here!”

Unbeknownst to the other three, having been too distracted by the aftermath of the battle, Charlotte had walked into a nearby clearing, finding a mouldy tome on a weathered stone pedestal, hidden behind the crumbled remnants of a wall.

Sasha and Becky exchanged quizzical glances at their respective chosen verbiage before joining Bayley as she marched over to hear Charlotte huskily read aloud.

“…And so it came to pass that the Countess, who once bathed in the rejuvenating blood of a hundred virgins, was buried alive. And her castle, in which so many cruel deeds took place, feel rapidly into ruin. Rising over the buried dungeons in that god-forsaken wilderness, a solitary tower; like some monument to evil, is all that remains.”

The natural lull that lingered as Charlotte turned the page was interrupted by a sarcastic remark from Becky. “Cheerful bedtime story.”

Sasha scoffed, though secretly she was finding herself beginning to appreciate the levity consistently instigated by the redhead. Though she still wasn’t fond of her presence, and there was absolutely no way she’d openly acknowledge any kind of appreciation for the barbarian’s penchant for making light of inherently dark situations. She would never allow the perpetually smug woman the satisfaction.

Having paused her reading, Charlotte found herself lost in thought, mesmerised by the flame-haired woman. She’d never known anyone to have such an effortless effect on her mind. In just a matter of hours, Becky was already proving to have the ability to make the blonde amazon’s mind wander every time she opened her mouth.

The momentary lapse in attention did not go unnoticed, least of all by Bayley. “So?” The paladin’s question brought Charlotte back to reality, only to find three pairs of eyes staring at her expectedly. “What else does it say?”

Charlotte shook her head clear of any lingering inappropriate thoughts before flickering her eyesight to the next page. “The Countess’ fortune was believed to be divided among the clergy, although some say that more remains unfound, still buried amongst the rotting skulls that bear mute witness to the inhumanity of the human creature.”

A heavy silence befell the four adventurers after the macabre story’s end. Was this a historical text? Or a grim story? Truth or fiction?

“Personally I’d have referred a novel about lass-kicking, love-starved maidens,” Becky shrugged her shoulders.

As the barbarian looked around for the reactions of her fellow adventurers, one in particular stood out. Amidst Charlotte’s throaty chuckle and Bayley’s unashamed grin, Becky just about caught the faint tugging of a smile on Sasha’s lips. “I caught that, lass.”

“No you didn’t!” Sasha quickly denied, though only a fool would have failed to recognise that she answered far too quickly, in an overly defensive manner. As Becky narrowed her eyebrows in challenge, Sasha settled her features in a pout, realising she’d walked herself into a trap by failing to deny the action she’d been caught doing, as opposed to denying that she’d been caught. Becky thought privately to herself how well Sasha carried the pout, looking as cute as a puppy. Perhaps there was more to this combustible young sorceress than first impressions implied. Charlotte had said as much and though she couldn’t put her finger on exactly why, she found herself trusting the tall blonde’s judgement.

“I know we were already on our way to the Monastery,” Bayley spoke, “but what if this tower, with it’s buried treasures, is true? Should we go find it?” The side-ponytailed brunette paladin’s eyes were gleaming with the promise of riches. Not out of greed, but out of knowing how desperately they were in need of gold.

“I don’t know. I think it could be real?” Charlotte suggested. “If it is, we need some way of procuring better equipment if we’re to fight Diablo, and I don’t know a more reliable method to do that than gold. Not to mention, retrieving Charsi’s Horadric Malus means battling our way through the horde of demons in the Monastery.” She paused to look between her companions, arching her eyebrows. “And I don’t know about you, but if we’re going to fight an army capable of overrunning an entire order of Rogues, I’d prefer to be well-prepared.”

“Even assuming this isn’t just some fairytale,” Becky interjected, “the book said the tower is in ruin, and heaven knows how many years the book has been lyin’ there. Ancient structures in a long-standing state of disrepair aren’t exactly the safest to journey through.”

As Becky stumbled through her words, Charlotte thought she detected a flicker of fear in her eyes. Did the prospect of making their way through a ruined building really have the fierce barbarian rattled?

“Aw, is the big, bad barbarian scared of a big pile of rubble?” Sasha teased in a voice of faux concern, a mocking smirk on her face.

“No!” Becky shot back, her voice and countenance resembling a frightened child refusing to admit their fear. Sasha found it difficult not to burst out in laughter at the sight of the previously arrogant woman reduced to such a cowardly form. “What, are you tellin’ me yer up for this?”

“Absolutely,” Sasha took pleasure in sounding as self-assured as she ever had done with a menacing grin on her face, deliberately in contrast to the snivelling barbarian. Nobody called her petty without a good reason, and she saw no shame in doing whatever she could to twist the knife.

Becky’s shoulders slumped, having realised that she had been outvoted. “Fine,” she sighed. “But if the building collapses and I’m the only one who doesn’t make it, I _will_ come back to haunt the lot o’ ya.”

“Seems fair enough,” Charlotte laughed as Becky pouted with enough cuteness to rival and exceed Sasha’s earlier pout. “There’s a waypoint over there. Why don’t we go back to town and find out what we can about this ruined tower?”

Given that it was a wise, sensible suggestion, no one objected to it. After all, if it did indeed exist, the ruined tower would still be standing there, just as it had for many years. And sometimes, doing research before plunging into the unknown could be the difference that saved them from an untimely death.

The four adventurers stepped onto the waypoint. The blue braziers burst into life, summoning forth a shimmering electric blue bubble, encasing the quartet of women, before casting their bodies back to the Rogue Encampment.

* * *

“The dangers there are not solely architectural,” Akara answered after Sasha and Bayley asked for her knowledge regarding the ruined tower. “Once inside that wretched place, many succumb to a vile miasma.”

Upon their arrival back at the Rogue Encampment on a fact-finding mission, the four adventurers had decided to split up to question the denizens on what they knew regarding the remnants of the Countess’ ruined castle mentioned in the mouldy tome they’d stumbled across in the Stony Field. With the rapidly spreading contagion of evil, they couldn’t afford to waste time. Bayley and Sasha went to the eastern side of the camp to speak to Akara, the wise old High Priestess, while Becky and Charlotte ventured to the western end to speak to Charsi, the bubbly but burly blacksmith. They didn’t even know for sure if the castle even existed or if the text was purely fictional – until everyone they spoke to confirmed its existence, yet everyone also advised against venturing there.

“Indeed,” Deckard Cain added to Akara’s warning of the structure’s various dangers as he hobbled over. “That tower marks a place of danger. There is an epic poem about it…how much sorrow one can stand was tested there.”

Sasha fought back the urge to roll her eyes. While she trusted the wisdom of the elderly High Priestess and the wizened old scholar, she also couldn’t help but think they were being a little over-dramatic.

“But there can’t be that much danger with the Countess long-dead, right?” Bayley asked, silently questioning whether the two were over-embellishing. She didn’t doubt that it would be a dangerous place to explore, but the reward should be worth the risk. “We need the treasure buried within if we’re going to stand a chance against more dangerous foes,” she argued her case.

“Hmph,” came a derisive scoff from behind them. Bayley and Sasha turned to see Kashya, the Rogues’ militant commander, approaching after eavesdropping on the exchange. “The tome speaks of treasure. Yet all we have found are death, delirium, and disappointment.” The dismissive disapproval in her tone was clear, taking on a dim view on the adventurers’ new plan.

“So you explored the whole building?” Sasha arched a questioning eyebrow as a silent challenge to Kashya’s assertion. It didn’t matter that the Rogues had ventured in and come out empty-handed. Until Sasha explored the building herself, she wouldn’t be satisfied that the promise of treasure truly was an empty one. Until proven otherwise, she happily believed that perhaps that Rogues simply hadn’t been exhaustive enough in their search. Her trust issues also extended to only trusting herself with certain tasks.

Kashya fixed Sasha with an icy stare. It seemed earning her respect didn’t stop Sasha from pushing her. “We were forced to withdraw early after we…suffered casualties.” Her speech was stilted, as though she was speaking of a regrettable incident that still caused her pain to think about. As soon as she had finished speaking, she turned her back.

Sensing that Sasha was about to prod further and likely cross a line, Bayley quickly spoke up. “Perhaps we should reconsider this Sasha. It could be too dangerous to be worthwhile.”

Kashya quickly spun back around to level the pair with a judgemental stare, something that felt very hypocritical given that a moment ago she had been warning against venturing into the castle remnants. “Have you suddenly lost your taste for wealth?” A taunting smile graced her lips, her tone not even trying to conceal her intention to goad them into the task.

As Sasha retorted with a smirk and narrowed eyes to make clear that she had no intention of backing down from either the tower or the provoking contest between her and Kashya, Deckard Cain proved to be just as adept at peace-making as Bayley. The old man cleared his throat to draw the women’s attention. “Quickly in and quickly out is all the advice I can give you.”

**_(Meanwhile on the other side of the encampment)_ **

Charlotte and Becky had been on their way to ask Charsi for advice on the matter of the aforementioned tower, when they bumped into Warriv. The jovial caravan master’s expression dropped upon the mere mention of that place. Although he assured them that it was real, he clearly did not think the same of the rumoured treasure hoard.

“Rumours of treasure are no different from rumours of any other kind. They hold false promise to those who should know better.” Warriv waggled a finger to emphasise his point.

“See, I told you Charlotte!” Becky asserted, wiggling her eyebrows at the other woman, earning a light chuckle.

“You did nothing of the sort!” Charlotte challenged back just as light-heartedly.

“Oh. Well I thought it in my head,” Becky shrugged her shoulders.

Charlotte couldn’t help but shake her head at the eccentricity of the flame-haired woman. Becky was unlike any barbarian she’d ever met. Most were stern, no-nonsense warriors with a thirst for battle. While Becky certainly had the barbarian fighting spirit, she also had a persisting light-hearted nature that a lot of barbarians seemed to lack. A few hours into their newfound friendship, and Charlotte still found herself insatiably intrigued by the woman who could (and had) hack away at demons with glee while taunting them one minute, and then laugh uproariously at her own pun the next. She was certainly an enigma; every layer of her personality and demeanour peeled back seemed to reveal another layer behind it.

“Even if the rumours were true,” Becky started after turning back to Warriv, “The place is too dangerous to be worth the risk, right?”

Warriv nodded. “Better an empty pocket than a full grave.”

Becky’s continued resistance to the prospect of venturing into the tower in search of treasure perturbed Charlotte. Sure, they were still relative strangers, having only gotten acquainted a matter of hours ago, but how could the woman who had absolutely no fear when battling a horde of demons have such unease at exploring an abandoned building, even if the structure might be on the verge of collapse? The strange dichotomy was a source of perplexion for the blonde amazon. She had the feeling that Becky was holding something back.

After Warriv excused himself to attend to his caravan, Charlotte and Becky approached Charsi, who instantly perked up upon seeing them.

“Hi! You can’t have made it to the Monastery and back already!”

“No, I’m afraid we haven’t made it there yet,” Charlotte confirmed, and Charsi’s expression fell slightly, having clearly gotten her hopes up at being reunited so soon with her beloved smithing hammer. “But we wanted to ask you something.”

Charsi’s warm expression returned at the distraction from her disappointment. “Sure, go ahead!”

“What can you tell us about the Countess’ tower in the Black Marsh?”

Charsi’s face seemed to subtly drain of colour at the question, before clearing her throat to gather herself. “That old tower is as rotten on the inside as it appears on the outside. I heard that several Sisters came to a gruesome end when a stairwell collapsed on them.”

Charlotte nodded grimly. She turned to Becky, only to be met with an unnerving sight. Far removed from her normal blustering self, beads of sweat dripped down Becky’s forehead. The redhead was trembling as her eyes darted back and forth with panic. The barbarian who usually puffed herself out to appear larger had never looked so small.

“Becky?” Charlotte’s voice cracked slightly in concern at the distressing appearance of her friend. “What’s wrong?”

She seemed lost in her own head, showing no acknowledgement of Charlotte’s concern. The tall blonde shook Becky by the shoulders, and the redhead’s eyes finally focused back on her. The sparkling look of pure concern in the amazon’s eyes helped Becky relax, bringing her breathing back to a steadier pace.

“Mm’fine,” Becky finally managed to mumble before taking a gulp to clear her throat. “I’ll be alright.”

Placing the palm of her hand flat on Becky’s back to keep her steady, Charlotte broke her gaze after a sudden interruption came from behind them.

“The only wealth you’re likely to find there is a wealth of vermin.”

Looking across, Charlotte stared furiously into the eyes of Gheed, the dubious merchant, who had sauntered over to add his two pieces of gold on the discussion of the tower. Although he had been completely oblivious to the mental upset Becky was currently suffering from, he knew his mistake at the borderline murderous look of hatred slung his way by the imposing blonde amazon. Having realised his miscalculation, the stunned merchant of low moral character widened his eyes in fear at the look of burning disgust, before quickly turning and retreating back to his shop.

Calming herself back down, Charlotte turned back to Becky, to find that she was looking much like she had done before her panic attack. Becky didn’t want to mention it, but Charlotte rubbing soothing circles on her back had helped immensely to settle her racing nerves. She wondered if Charlotte had even been aware she’d been doing it.

With the calmed look in Becky’s eyes, Charlotte felt comfortable enough to press the issue. “Becky, I know there’s something you’re not telling me. Don’t think I’ve missed the look of fear in your eyes at the idea of venturing into that tower. And your reaction just now…something traumatic happened to you in the past. Am I right?”

Becky’s expression looked sheepish, before shutting her eyes and nodding quickly, unable to bear the look of concern shining in Charlotte’s eyes.

“I uhh, I started adventuring when I was really young,” Becky started weakly, a stark contrast to her normally strong voice. “Even younger than Sasha is now. I travelled all over the world, doin’ pretty well for meself. One day I was explorin’ this crumblin’ ruin of an ancient castle lookin’ fer treasure, when-“ Becky’s breath hitched, her voice having started to crack at the painful memory. She took a deep breath to calm herself before pressing on with her tale. “The building began to collapse around me. I started runnin’ outta there, when a piece of falling debris struck me in the face, almost knockin’ me out cold.”

Becky stopped again as her eyes began to water, blinking the tears away. It was a humbling sight to see someone so proud and thirsty for combat so overcome by bad memories. It reinforced to Charlotte that no matter what walk of life one came from, everybody had certain recollections that caused them pain.

“I tried to get up and run,” Becky continued, “but I was barely aware of where I was, and blood got into my eye, making it really hard to see. Somehow I managed to stumble out of there, a split second before the whole building collapsed into a heap of wood and stone.” Becky squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head, trying to ward off the pain. “I wasn’t right again for a long, long time. I had splittin’ headaches that felt like a demon was trying to carve my brain out, my left ear wouldn’t stop buzzin’, and my vision was all blurry.”

Charlotte stayed silent for a few moments after Becky had finished her story, digesting not only the memory itself, but the feelings behind it. This explained why the barbarian was so scared to enter a dilapidated old ruin. She was terrified of history repeating itself.

“So that’s why you’re afraid.” Charlotte spoke, careful to make sure her tone came across as understanding and sympathetic, rather than judgemental or condescending. “You narrowly escaped death the first time, and you don’t want to risk it again.”

Becky nodded lamely before looking down at the grass beneath her feet, too consumed by her emotions to put up any bravado. She honestly didn’t give a damn if this caused Charlotte to think less of her. After that harrowing experience, she had every right to want to avoid a repeat – with potentially grave consequences.

Charlotte gently placed her hand on top of Becky’s, waiting patiently for her to look up again.

“You don’t have to come into the tower if you don’t want to,” Charlotte whispered gently, not wanting anyone to overhear any show of weakness from the barbarian – no matter how much she honestly thought Becky deserved to feel the way she did. Although Becky didn’t seem to have a problem opening up to her, she knew how proud the barbarian was, and that she had an image to maintain. “You can stay here until we get back.”

This sympathetic offer suddenly awakened the sleeping fire within Becky, the flame in her eyes bursting into life. The barbarian scowled before shaking her head fiercely, her fiery hair waving in the wind. “I might be scared, but I’m no coward. I said I’d accompany you three, and I meant it.” The unwavering certainty in her voice had returned in full force. “So don’t you dare, Charlotte Flair,” she pointed a finger in the blonde’s face, raising her voice “don’t you dare try to take pity on me.”

Charlotte was shocked and stunned by the redhead’s ungracious reaction. She was trying to make things easier for the woman, only for it to be thrown back in her face. It was clear that Sasha wasn’t the only ungrateful member of their party, Charlotte thought as she watched Becky storm away without another word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for coming back to this story! I know this chapter wasn't the most action packed (and quite honestly, I was still getting back into the mindset of the characters after a long break, so it may feel disjointed from previous chapters). I hope it was okay, and intrigued you to find out where the story is going. We're starting to get clear goals now for the Horsewomen.
> 
> This was part one of what was supposed to be one chapter, but I decided I'd rather get some content out now rather than making people wait another few weeks, so I broke it up into two and here we are!
> 
> What did we think? Am I setting up the relationships adequately? Did I go too far in making Sasha too immature? Are we intrigued into what will happen when they enter this forgotten tower? And how can Becky's reaction at the end be explained?
> 
> Let me know what you thought in the comments.
> 
> -HunTAH


	5. The Forgotten Tower - Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlotte confronts Becky on her behaviour from the previous chapter. The four venture into the tower catacombs, finding more than they bargained for. The danger of the tower is made explicitly clear when one of the Horsewomen has a near-death experience.

When Charlotte caught up to the other three members of her adventuring party, she was surprised to find Becky looking back to her old self. There was not a trace of the panic-stricken small woman she’d tried to comfort, nor the whirlwind of rage she’d transformed into without warning after Charlotte had tried a sympathetic gesture. Instead, she seemed back to her normal cheery boisterous self. In fact, it looked an awful lot to Charlotte that Becky was pretending that their pointed interaction had never happened.

“Ready to go?” Bayley asked, her posture steady and patient, but an unmistakable glean in her eyes betrayed the fact that she was itching to get back on the road to changing the world for the better. Sasha didn’t even try to hide how impatient she was, constantly shifting her weight between her feet.

Charlotte looked across to meet Becky’s eyes, only to find that the redhead immediately darted her eyes away the second she felt the blonde’s gaze upon her. Charlotte found herself frowning at Becky’s behaviour. She thought they were on the fast track towards becoming good friends, possibly more, only for this strange situation to occur. She’d give anything right now to delve into the mind of the eccentric and problematic redhead, to understand why she’d reacted the way she had done. But right now, it was like trying to read a closed book.

Swallowing the lump of frustration in her throat, Charlotte blinked before turning back to Bayley. “Yeah, let’s go.”

* * *

The trek across the boggy marshland proved to be an uncomfortable one. Thankfully they’d been saved from an even longer journey, through their ability to use the waypoint to teleport to the Dark Wood. Beyond that, the only information they had regarding the crumbling remnants of the Countess’ tower was that it resided somewhere within the Black Marsh.

As the four pairs of boots plodded throughout the squelchy underfoot of the wet soil, a thick, heavy, awkward silence hung over the four adventurers like a blanket. Blankets usually inferred comfort, but this one was as far from comfortable as one could get. If the faint aura of demonic influence permeating the surrounding air wasn’t enough to unsettle them, the choking awkwardness certainly did the job.

The moment their feet had touched the dry dirt in the Dark Wood, Becky had instantly dragged Bayley to walk alongside her at the front of the party, leaving Charlotte to walk beside Sasha. To say that everyone aside from Becky was confused would be an understatement.

Bayley shrugged off her initial bewilderment, reasoning that Becky had indeed been more scared of their current quest than she’d been letting on, requiring the protective paladin by her side for emotional support.

Sasha on the other hand, felt as though she’d lost a metaphorical limb. Over the past two days, she’d quickly grown attached to Bayley. It had gotten to the point that venturing through any stretch of land with anyone other than Bayley walking in step beside her felt wrong, as though it was not meant to be. Whether it had been just her and Bayley, her, Bayley and Charlotte, or her, Bayley, Charlotte and Paige, the young sorceress and the older paladin had always walked together. Sasha knew it was silly, but it just didn’t feel right to walk in any formation other than by Bayley’s side.

This only further fuelled her already existing resentment towards the unbearable redhead barbarian in front of her. Although they’d had a brief moment of peace, she still felt very uncomfortable around her. She was insufferable, obnoxious, and Sasha would honestly rather listen to the never-ending cackles of a demon horde than have to listen to another of Becky’s horrendous jokes. Now she was inserting herself into the place she had occupied for the past couple of days. If she hadn’t already realised how much she’d acted up and made the age gap between her and the other three painfully obvious by her immature outbursts within the past few hours, she would definitely have openly complained.

Instead Sasha had resigned herself to boring a hole in the back of Becky’s curtain of obnoxious hair.

To Charlotte though, Becky’s behaviour was just a slap in the face. She just didn’t get it. She tried to be understanding and sympathetic, listening to a personal tale that Becky chose to share with her, only to be yelled at and shunned in return. And now Becky wasn’t even going to look in her direction? Charlotte honestly could do little more than brood and stew silently for the moment. It was clear that Becky wasn’t interested in acknowledging her presence.

That was why after they started walking, Charlotte was initially trailing behind the other three, lost in her thoughts of frustration towards Becky. It wasn’t until Sasha turned and asked her why she was walking alone that she realised her behaviour hadn’t been as subtle as she’d hoped.

“I don’t bite,” Sasha added in a joking tone, yet with a slight, almost imperceptible, quiver of nervousness to her voice. Sasha still remembered how firm the amazon had been with her after she had pushed her too far, and felt unsure whether Charlotte held any resentment towards her as a result. Yet there was also encouragement in her tone, which was why Charlotte didn’t take long to stride forwards, falling in step beside the sorceress.

“What’s the matter?” Sasha whispered shortly afterwards, not wanting the barbarian several steps ahead to overhear. Neither Becky nor Charlotte had behaved the same after they’d regrouped back in the Rogue Encampment, and Sasha had an inkling that something had happened between the two. Charlotte and Becky had seemed to gravitate towards each other since meeting a few hours ago, sticking to each other’s side like her and Bayley had.

Her suspicion was quickly confirmed when Charlotte’s eyes instinctively darted towards Becky. Charlotte had hoped that Sasha hadn’t caught the movement, but the intelligent young woman had indeed noticed.

“She a pain in your ass too, huh?” Sasha asked with a hint of a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. While she did not wish for there to be any problems within their group, it felt nice to have someone just as infuriated by the newest member of their party as she was. Sasha and Charlotte didn’t feel a close bond of friendship by any means, but over the past day they’d formed a healthy dose of respect for one another through their combat skills. Even when they were pissing each other off.

A terse head nod from Charlotte was all that was needed. Charlotte didn’t immediately follow up, weighing up whether she wanted to share her frustrations with Sasha or not. They may look out for each other when fighting demons, but that didn’t mean they were friends. But Sasha hadn’t shown any signs of betraying her, so Charlotte supposed she could start trusting her.

“She just…” Charlotte started before trailing off, trying to figure out how to word the way she was feeling. “I can’t figure her out.”

“I know what you mean,” Sasha nodded in agreement, “Either she’s going to hack us apart in our sleep, or-“

“No!” Charlotte protested a little too loudly, causing Becky and Bayley to pause and turn around, metal armour creaking ominously in the thick silence, eyebrows raised in question. Charlotte gave a watery smile, hoping to placate them. Thankfully it worked, and they turned back and resumed walking, as she glared at Sasha. “Why do you still think Becky is going to harm us?

“She’s too aggressive,” Sasha countered. “Sure, she’s content hacking demons apart now, but what about when we run out of demons to slay and she gets bored?”

Charlotte took a second to study Sasha, trying to work out if the young adventurer was serious. Honestly, her body language didn’t give a definitive answer.

“And that’s completely different to your thirst for magic, to be as deadly as you can be, right?” Charlotte threw back, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

Sasha screwed up her features with a visible grimace, before raising a single finger and jerking it forwards. “Shut up.”

Charlotte laughed at the sorceress’ fiery reaction. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the most minute of twitches, curving Sasha’s lips upwards by the tiniest amount.

Now she was finally beginning to understand why Becky and Sasha continued to argue incessantly. It was fun to poke fun amongst people you trusted. Unfortunately, the barbarian and the sorceress hadn’t yet gotten to the important point of trust, and so their exchanges were entirely antagonist rather than good-natured. And given how hard-headed Sasha absolutely was, and how hard-headed Becky was starting to reveal herself to be, that didn’t seem to be changing anytime soon. Well at least, barring the type of experience that only life or death situations can provide.

“So if that’s not what bothers you, then what is it about Becky?” Sasha asked. Charlotte had to hand it to Sasha. The young woman was as shrewd as she was immature.

Charlotte reasoned that she could trust Sasha with a hint of the truth. “You saw how apprehensive she was about entering that tower right?” Charlotte questioned, Sasha nodding in response. “I suggested that she could stay in the camp while we went in, and her whole demeanour just…changed in an instant. I’ve never seen anyone look as angry as she did in that moment.”

Sasha’s eyes widened in bewilderment. Not in surprise at Becky’s behaviour, no. That didn’t surprise her at all, but shock at Charlotte’s entirely oblivious attitude. Sasha couldn’t help a smirk momentarily crossing her face. Clearly Charlotte still had a lot to learn when it came to certain personalities.

“Charlotte…do you really not understand _why_ Becky reacted like that? At all?” Charlotte shook her head in answer. “Geez Charlotte, if that was me, I’d slap you.”

“What?” the tall blonde furrowed her brow in confusion.

“Look, it’s no secret that I’m not the biggest fan of the annoying redhead, but even I can see what a proud warrior she is. If I was scared of something, and you offered me an easy way out, I’d be insulted. There’s no way I would ever back down and take the cowards way out. No matter what.” The look on Sasha’s face conveyed how serious she was about her stance on the matter, eyes glowing something fierce, lips firmly closed.

Charlotte took a moment to process this information, realising that she’d been taking entirely the wrong approach with Becky. When she thought she was helping, she was actually making the situation worse. She didn’t know what was worse: having harmed her burgeoning friendship with Becky by taking pity on her, or needing Sasha to help her realise it. She just knew that Sasha would be even more insufferable than she already was; her inflated ego was going to inevitably swell after enlightening the amazon. Charlotte knew she needed to say something to tip the balance back in her favour.

“How does it feel to know how similar you and Becky are?” Charlotte asked with a playful grin.

“Shut it, baby Flair,” Sasha retorted, a look of disgust on her face. The look of disgust gradually melted to a slight smile that she couldn’t help, after Charlotte began to giggle.

As much as Sasha didn’t appreciate being compared to the woman she still held an intense dislike for, it felt good to be improving her relationship with Charlotte. The two may have been at each other’s throats the previous day, and she suspected that even if they did become friends it would be a bumpy road.

Like it or not, they were a team. Even including Becky. While the sorceress did not yet feel entirely comfortable with them, besides Bayley, smoothening the relationships and starting to build friendships seemed a sensible way to remain alive. After all, they couldn’t exactly fight effectively if they didn’t trust one another. However even knowing that, there was no way Sasha was ready to play nice or start trusting Becky. She had too much pride for that.

* * *

A short walk through the moors later, the four women spotted the ruins of the tower looming in the distance. They hadn’t needed to do much fighting on the way there, but the demons grew increasingly numerous and packed together the closer they’d gotten.

As they crossed the bridge above a river separating the two areas of boggy marshland, up ahead they could see a cluster of demons guarding the base of the tower remnants. The most numerous of the guards were a stronger variation of Fallen, orange skin showing them to be the Devilkin variant. Some wielded spiked clubs, some scimitars. But all held shields for protection.

There were also a few Khazra, but with a distinct difference from the clan they’d fought earlier. Their skin and clothing were coated from horn to hoof in thick red blood. All Khazra were sadistic creatures, but the frightening tales of the Blood Clan spoke of taking it to a whole new level, reported to splatter themselves with the blood of their victims. The four adventurers could see with their very eyes that the stories were true.

Bayley stopped in place as they approached, holding up a hand to bring the other the three to a halt. “Are you all ready-“ she began to whisper, before she caught a flash of orange hair in her peripheral vision.

“I’m goin’ na kill every one of you dopes!!” a familiar accent roared through the air. The other three turned to watch Becky leap high into the air, landing with a shattering crash into the dirt behind an unfortunate Khazra, cracks forming in the ground at the impact. With the Goatman unaware of the danger behind him, he was easy prey as Becky swung her flaming axes and decapitated him in one clean sweep, a river of gore spurting out to paint the mud.

“You guys like blood, right?” Becky asked the stunned demons, a cheeky glint into her eyes, her lips curved in a devious smirk. “Well I’m goin’ ta spill some more ‘o yours!”

Having regathered their wits after the unexpected attack, several of the demons let out menacing shrieks before advancing towards the barbarian, eyes gleaming with murderous intent. Becky showed absolutely no fear. In fact, as was consistent with her behaviour thus far, she seemed to revel in the thrill of battle.

“Well, that spoils the surprise attack,” Bayley commented dryly, snorting in surprise at the fiery-haired woman’s antics.

Sasha stepped forward beside Bayley to get a closer look, purple hair blowing in the wind. “Should we go help her?” Sasha asked, raising her eyebrows.

It was a fair question; Becky seemed to be handling herself exceptionally well, despite being surrounded by a multitude of enemies. Yet somehow, she was slaying them with all the fervour of a child on Christmas morning. From their vantage point, it didn’t look like Becky needed any assistance. The ground was beginning to run red with demonic blood, and Becky had yet to suffer any injury, not even a scratch. She continued to swirl her flaming axes around and bellow insults with reckless abandon, cutting a swath through her opponents both physically and verbally.

Even though they knew Becky didn’t need the help, it didn’t feel right to stand back and not bother getting their hands dirty. And so after looking at each other and exchanging shoulder shrugs, Charlotte, Bayley and Sasha all charged in to assist their barbarian.

The battle was over in less than a minute. A few precise spear incisions by Charlotte, a rain of crackling lightning bolts by Sasha, and a careful selection of slices by Bayley’s sword all joined Becky’s more chaotic combat style to achieve the end result of a multitude of slain demons. It was all over so quickly that none of them, apart from Becky, had broken a sweat.

“Ever heard of strategy?” Charlotte cocked her eyebrows in Becky’s direction.

“You don’t need strategy when the Man comes around,” Becky grin flashed a cocky grin back. It was clear from her tone that it was all fun and games to her, something that irked Sasha to no end.

“Here we go…” Sasha rolled her eyes in obvious distaste.

“What’s the matter little miss magician?” Becky wasted no time getting in Sasha’s face. “Your ego can’t handle being upstaged?” A challenging smirk crossed the barbarian’s lips, silently begging the sorceress to carry on running her mouth.

Sasha scoffed, “Oh, you are such a-“ her eyes began to glow icy blue with a furious glint, a potential precursor to volatile magic being unleashed through her inability to control her emotions.

“Hey!” Bayley interjected, the frustration in her voice palpable. “If you two don’t stop, me and Charlotte will go on without you.”

Sasha turned to Bayley, the magical glow dissipating from the distraction. “You wouldn’t.”

The paladin sheathed her sword and folded her arms. “Try me.” The message was clear, and both Becky and Sasha found themselves sheepishly looking away, the aura radiating from Bayley warning them to tread carefully.

While Bayley and Sasha occupied themselves in a fierce, but static, staring contest, Becky noticed Charlotte slip into the tower by herself.

“Steady on, Queenie,” Becky called after her as she hurried to catch up; a distance closed far easier by the amazon’s long legs. “This ain’t your castle, y’know.”

The barbarian let out an audible gasp of shock as Charlotte whirled round and slammed her palms against the stone wall behind Becky, forcing her back and effectively trapping the redhead. Orange and blonde hair briefly tangled together in the quick action. Taking a quick glance around the corner to see Sasha and Bayley engaged in an animated conversation outside, Charlotte turned her attention back to Becky, still pinned in the space between her arms.

“No. You don’t get to do that.” There was a cold anger to the blonde’s tone.

“Do what?” Becky asked with a confused eyebrow raise.

“You don’t get to blow up on me like you did, and then joke around like nothing happened.” Charlotte sighed with frustration, and then released her hands from the grip on the wall either side of the woman that she was still furious with.

Becky stared incredulously at Charlotte for a moment, her mouth hanging open. “So that was what this was about?”

Charlotte ran her fingers through her hair exasperatedly. “I thought we were getting on just fine. I tried to offer you kindness, and you just threw it back in my face.” A brief look of hurt flashed across the blonde’s features as she began to raise her voice in anger. “And then you tried to pretend like nothing had happened. You couldn’t even look me in the eye!”

“Well how’d you think I felt?” Becky countered back, growling with a scowl. “A few hours after we met, an’ you were doing everything but callin’ me a coward. I told you before Charlotte Flair, I don’t need your pity. Behaving as though everything was fine was my way of sayin’ that I forgive you.”

Now it was Charlotte’s turn to open her mouth incredulously in disbelief. “Are you seriously suggesting that _I_ should apologise to _you_?” Her voice was so shocked that she asked in a low whisper. She narrowed her eyebrows and deepened her scowl to show how tremendously pissed off she was. “You can kiss my ass!”

“Is that a serious offer?” Becky asked in a more light-hearted tone, causing Charlotte to huff in disgust and walk away, having no time for Becky’s inappropriately lewd jokes right now.

“Lass, lass,” Becky called out as she hurried up and grabbed Charlotte’s arm, persuading the blonde to spin around and stare at her with a livid glare. Becky softened her features in an unsuccessful attempt to pacify the enraged amazon. “Look, maybe I couldn’t look you in the eye because I wasn’t too proud of my behaviour. Perhaps I could have reacted better-“

“Perhaps?!”

Charlotte’s outburst was loud enough to potentially alert the other two of their private conversation. Fortunately, a quick glance around the corner showed that the paladin and the sorceress were still too engrossed in their own.

“Well what do you want me to do? Get on my knees and beg for your forgiveness?”

Charlotte cocked her eyebrows at Becky’s flippant proposal, as though giving the matter some thought. “That’d be a start,” she gave a small smirk, her mood beginning to lift.

“Yeah well, I don’t bow that easily.”

“Not yet. But you will.”

“Pretty sure of yourself, aren’t ya?”

“I think I know-“

“Oh good, you two look like you’ve worked through your issues.”

The unexpected interruption from Bayley caused both Becky and Charlotte to gasp almost simultaneously in surprise. They’d been so caught up in each other that they hadn’t heard the other two members of their party approach.

“About time!” Sasha huffed. “Your weird energy was really spoiling my vibes.”

“Vibes?” Becky tilted her head puzzlingly at the sorceress. “Fer killin’ demons?”

“Would you rather it be you?” Sasha quickly whirled around to focus her full attention at Becky, eyes narrowed. There was an aggressiveness to her tone, but Becky couldn’t determine whether it was playful or a sincere threat.

“Five minutes…” Bayley pinched the bridge of her nose and breathed a sigh of annoyance. “Could we just all get along for five minutes?”

Sasha looked away sheepishly as Bayley tried to fix her with a steely glare. Not even two minutes had passed since she’d had yet another talk with Sasha about her snarky remarks, and here they were again. Trying to persuade the young passionate sorceress to hold her tongue was like trying to persuade a demon to protect the innocent. It just wasn’t in her nature.

Becky just shrugged before turning to inspect the room they’d entered. She knew there would never be peace in their group. She enjoyed pushing as many buttons as she could find far too much for that, and Sasha had too little restraint on her emotions to avoid arguing back in earnest.

Looking around the room, the ruined brick was just as dilapidated inside as it was on the outside. Rotten, moss covered wood lined the walls, with bent remnants of a wooden floorboard platform above them indicating that there used to be a walkway on an upper floor.

Now though, all that was left was moss seeping in through the cracks between the bricks. The structure of the tower they’d entered was mostly intact, though there were a few gaps where light filtered into the otherwise dark room.

In the corner of the room was a large square hole, with a ladder providing a means to descend. Curiously enough, a yellow light emanated out of the hole, flickering around all four sides of the square artificial pit.

Without hesitation, Becky started to clamber down the ladder, until she was stopped mid-descent by a hand on her left shoulder.

Becky looked up to look into the cerulean pools of Charlotte’s eyes. There was a sincere concern shining in the blonde’s eyes, just like they looked back at the camp. However, this time there was also an uneasiness clouding her irises. Something that Becky internally cursed herself for being the cause of thanks to her earlier outburst.

Charlotte hesitated for a few seconds before opening her mouth. “Are you sure?”

Becky blinked at the amazon before breaking eye contact to continue her climb down the wooden ladder, finding herself too overcome with emotions to bother articulating anything. Because she knew if she tried, she’d look as much of a fool as she felt. She was scared, yes, of course she was. But her pride always overrode her fear. But the shame of how she’d treated the woman she’d taken a liking to sat deep in her heart, threatening to bubble up to the surface. Because Charlotte had been right. But if there was ever a time to admit that, it wasn’t now.

Having been lost in her thoughts, Becky barely registered the fact that she was no longer standing alone, the two people she annoyed the most standing beside her, as Bayley scaled down the ladder to join them.

Now they found themselves in a bricked room roughly the same size as the entrance up above. Looking around, they could see what had illuminated the hole: torchlight. The flames flickered fiercely, showing the purple of Sasha's hair dancing in the muted wind provided from the outside above, the glint bouncing off the polished steel of Bayley's sword, and the sheen of sweat on Charlotte's brow from the pure exertion of dealing with Becky.

It was very curious that the torches still burned, untold years after the Countess' demise. Almost as if the ruined tower was still occupied.

What really grabbed their attention though, was a huge hole in the wall beside the ladder. Rubble made up of discarded grey bricks littered the floor around it. But where did it lead do? And more to the point: who or what caused it?

The litany of questions upon the four adventurers' minds did nothing to deter them. If anything, the curiosity spurred them on.

“Careful,” Becky warned as Charlotte stumbled across the bricks in a half-crouched position to allow her tall frame to duck low enough to enter the hole. She extended her hand helpfully towards the blonde, only to be given a look of disgust, as though her hand was another of her vulgar jokes.

Charlotte glared with such intensity that Becky felt herself shrink under the amazon’s furious stare. “I got it.” The words were said with enough venom to feel just as icy as her eyes looked. In any other context, those words would feel warm, a cheerful rejection of help. But in a tone completely lacking in warmth, those same words produced the opposite effect. If she hadn’t realised already, now Becky knew she was in Charlotte’s bad books.

Watching from behind them, Bayley and Sasha exchanged quizzical looks, mentally agreeing to question the strange behaviour if they managed to get out of there in one piece.

“After you,” Bayley gestured forward with her sword.

“Do you just love seeing me leave, or are you protecting me from any demons climbing down after us?” Sasha smirked mischievously.

“A bit of both,” the side-ponytailed paladin grinned back, earning a chuckle from the sorceress as she climbed through the hole. As the shortest member of the group, she didn’t need to duck her head too low. The woman behind her didn’t have that same luxury.

* * *

As the four assembled on the other side of the hole, they found themselves standing in a perfectly sculpted underground tunnel. In fact, tunnel wasn’t an adequate word for it. Rather, it looked as though they’d found the tower dungeons. Stone pillars lined the walls around them. They began to venture down the corridor, thankful for the lit torches guiding their path, when they realised there was something off about their surroundings.

In a disturbing display, there were holes carved into the walls with prone skeletons laid inside. As the corridor stretched on without an end in sight in the semi-darkness, they began to lose count of how many skeletons they passed.

They were now well acquainted with the tales of the murderous Countess by now of course. But seeing what appeared to be the fruits of her labour…it was sick, it was twisted. A macabre monument to her own evil, gloating even from beyond the grave.

“Sleep really is for the dead, eh?” Becky broke the silence.

Bayley shook her head and opened her mouth to voice her disapproval, when she beaten to the punch by Charlotte, who wheeled round to get in Becky’s face. “Do you have no respect at all in that thick head of yours?! These were innocent victims, and now their remains are the butt of your pathetic quips?”

Becky looked visibly uncomfortable at the confrontation, wishing not for the first time that she could stop sticking her foot in her mouth. “Jus’ tryin’ ta lighten the mood, keep our spirits up-“ Her eyes suddenly widened at something over Charlotte’s shoulder, and the next words to come out of her mouth was directed at whatever had garnered her attention. “Sorry guys, I meant no offense, and I wasn’t being quite so literal.”

Turning to see what had grabbed Becky’s attention, Charlotte turned, and she instantly understood the irritating redhead’s behaviour. Floating towards them were four spectres of light. Roughly humanoid outlines shimmered with white light, while trails of blue followed behind them, billowing like incorporeal capes. However, their arms appeared perpetually outstretched, resembling wings of a bird. They all emitted ethereal noises, the sounds fluttering and sounding otherworldly. As they approached, the four adventurers realised that there was a physical portion surrounded by the ghostly trails of white and blue. Not a body, but a skeleton contained within. But these were not like any human skeleton they’d seen.

Instead the skull had horns protruding from the top. Fingers were replaced by long claws, each half the length of the entire arm, which explained mistaking them for wings from a distance. The ribcage narrowed downwards, and the spine curved upwards slightly behind, resembling a tail.

“Are those…ghosts?” Sasha arched her brows in curiosity, before extending a hand towards one of the approaching spectres.

“Sasha, no!” Bayley called out, but unfortunately too late.

Sasha gasped in pain as she felt her skin burn as her hand made contact with the spirit. Quickly examining her hand, she was bewildered to find that her skin didn’t look as though it had been harmed by heat. Instead before her very eyes, a stream of blue energy rose from out of her pores, travelling into the phantom which now emitted a menacing aura that was felt rather than seen or heard. The sorceress suddenly found herself feeling weak. She aimed her staff at the malevolent spirit and focused her mind on conjuring a bolt of lightning. But none came. Realisation dawned on her. The ghost had not only siphoned a portion of her life, but her mana reserves as well – the resource required for any magic user to call upon said energies.

In the time wasted trying to apply the magic she was too weak to utilise, the same ghost knocked her down to one knee with a vengeful touch, causing Sasha to cry out in pain as the spirit singed hers.

“Get away from her!” Bayley screamed as she rushed in and swiped at the spectre with her sword, the metal whooshing through the incorporeal shape as though it had passed through empty air, entirely missing the skeleton within. “Uh-oh,” the paladin verbalised as she realised her attack had had no effect. As the ghost extended a terrifyingly sharp looking bony claw towards her, Bayley managed to get her shield up just in time to block the blow.

Fast running out of options, a fearful Bayley decided to try something she’d never successfully pulled off before. In the latter days of her training, she’d been taught on how to release a holy bolt – a single bolt of pure holy energy that had been proven to be particularly devastating to any undead creature. All the previous times she’d attempted it, she’d proven to be not yet strong enough to summon such divine power. But the situation was looking dire, and her current forms of attack just weren’t going to cut it. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Becky and Charlotte fruitlessly swing their axes and spear respectively, but to no avail. They were experiencing the same problem she had; the ghosts’ shimmering incorporeal forms were acting as a physical barrier protecting the skeleton inside.

Her shield dropped to the floor with a clang that went almost unheard in the sounds of combat. Still clutching her sword, Bayley brought her hands together in the closest approximation of a prayer as she could manage. Her eyes closed, deep in concentration.

“Bayley!” Sasha squealed weakly, one of the ghosts fast approaching to finish her off and drain her entire life force. The sorceress’ eyes were wide with fear, knowing that in her current state there wasn’t anything she could do but watch as her life ebbed away, unless her paladin intervened.

And divine intervention is exactly what happened. Eyes snapping open, Bayley raised her sword above her head, yelling fiercely as she brought the sword swooping down, a sphere of pure white holy energy emerging from the metal in the direction of the ghost threatening Sasha. The holy bolt shimmered, light radiating in every direction. It latched onto the ghost’s location like a missile seeking heat, zooming in a beeline towards the malevolent spirit.

Knowing her time was up, Sasha managed to feebly raise her hands in front of her face, only to hear a high-pitched shriek. Lowering her hands, Sasha watched as the spirit’s phantom form dissolved, the skeleton collapsing into a scattered pile of bones. She turned to look up at Bayley, who was looking at her with an arched brow – a silent question of ‘you good?’. Sasha nodded more slowly than she would normally. Too weak to stand, the incapacitated sorceress watched Bayley turn her gaze to the rest of the ghosts.

Although Charlotte and Becky had been managing to keep them at bay, it had become clear that their limbs were starting to flag with the fruitless effort that had constantly kept them on the back foot. Having been too consumed in their own personal battles to see what had happened behind them, it was with great surprise and relief as divine spheres of holy energy zoomed between them and slammed into the evil spirits, bones cluttering to the ground before their eyes. Confusion tinted their features, until they turned to look at the triumphant paladin standing behind them. Looking into her eyes, they knew what had happened. Bayley had come to their rescue.

Both women nodded in silent acknowledgement to Bayley’s concerned expression. With that out of her mind, Bayley helped drag Sasha to her feet, the young sorceress somewhat limp, her energy too drained for her muscles to comply without aid. The woman’s normally vibrant eyes were glassy, a visual indication that she was not all there. Seeing that she could just able to manage to stand under her own power, Bayley took a tentative step back, still within arm’s reach if her strength suddenly wavered.

Sasha slowly forced her arm to open the satchel around her waist, though even this proved to be a struggle. It was as if her limbs were only half awake, and the fact that she was managing to move them at all was a testament to her own sheer willpower. Despite a momentary struggle with the clasp, she managed to get the bag open and fish around inside for what she was searching for.

Eventually Sasha pulled out a bottle filled with purple liquid. Pulling out the stopper with all the strength her fingers could muster, she tilted the bottle to her lips, and greedily gulped down the entire contents. The light gradually began to return to her eyes, and after a few seconds she found she had regained full control of her limbs.

“Rejuvenation potion,” Sasha explained with a watery smile, “works every time.”

“Only if yer stupid enough to need it,” Becky said angrily, clearly none too pleased with her reckless behaviour. “Did yer magician mentors never tell ya not to touch anything you don’t understand?”

The flame in Sasha’s eyes burst into life as she wagged a finger at Becky. “Now listen here you barbarian bitch-“

“Enough!” Bayley interrupted. Her glare was a definitive message in itself, and something about the way her eyes burned caused the two to immediately stand down. “No. We are not doing this now. If you two idiots want to fight, feel free to do so when we get back to camp.” She shook her head in disappointment, disbelief also evident across her features that she actually had to say this. “But we are not doing this while we’re standing underneath a crumbling ruin, possibly filled with creatures waiting to kill us.” Bayley strode forward, Charlotte following behind to ensure she wouldn’t be walking off alone. Becky and Sasha exchanged heated glares, before trailing behind like scolded children.

* * *

Having descended down a flight of stairs, the four adventurers found themselves on a lower level of the tower dungeons. The décor was identical to the floor above; all stone, skeletons decorating alcoves lining the walls. After their encounter with the ghosts, they proceeded with caution. Although lit torches guided their path, there was no telling what vile creatures could be waiting for them in the shadows.

As they walked, Sasha continued to stew about the rebuke from Becky. Deep down, she knew the obnoxious savage was right. It had been stupid of her to reach out to touch the ghost. She was smarter than that. As loathe as she was to admit, perhaps that idiot had a point. But why would Becky be outraged at her self-destructive behaviour? As far as Sasha was concerned, she was still convinced that the barbarian was plotting to kill them. So why would she object to Sasha letting her guard down and unknowingly giving the malevolent spirit a free hit? That would have made her job easier.

The thoughts continued to puzzle the sorceress as her body collided with that of the very woman she was pondering about, Becky having stopped in her tracks without any warning.

“Watch it you clumsy oaf!” Sasha spat.

“Shh!!” Becky hissed quietly. “Listen!”

Sasha decided to indulge her just this once, and she was glad she did. Sharpening her ears, she heard the echoing unmistakable cackles of a horde of Fallen.

“Sounds like at least twenty of them,” Charlotte whispered.

“Let’s go then!” Becky stalked off without warning, not leaving a single second to plan their attack.

Bayley groaned with an agitated sigh. “Is she ever going to strategise?”

Charlotte just shrugged in reply before following Becky’s direction.

As the three got closer, they heard the cackling echoes transform in to echoing screams of pain and panic. Following the sounds, they rounded into a wide hall full of scurrying Devilkin, their orange flesh helping them stand out against the grey stone.

Becky seemed to be doing a good job of slaughtering the hapless demons, demonic blood already painting her face in various splatter patterns. Both of her fiery axes swung in opposite directions around her, the double swing cleaving two of the impish creatures either side of her.

Out of the corner of her eye, a Shaman worked his magic to revive one of the Devilkin she’d just dispatched, his flesh knitting back together from the burning incision.

“Oh, you want some more do ya? The Man is happy to oblige!” She swung one of her axes with glee, a brief but violent yelp escaping the Devilkin’s lips as his body became a corpse once more.

As much fun as Becky was clearly having, sooner or later the numbers would catch up to her, especially as the Devilkin shamans repeatedly brought their foot soldiers back to life. And so Bayley, Charlotte and Sasha entered the fray, targeting the shamans as Becky continued to cut a swath through as many scurrying Devilkin as she could catch.

A minute later, and the four women were the only living souls in the room, butchered demons littering the stone floor.

“Yer welcome for me letting you share the fun,” Becky grinned.

“Do you have a death wish?” Charlotte stared incredulously at the flame-haired warrior, wondering not for the first time if it was a barbarian custom to drop their children on their head, or if Becky had just been _that_ annoying as a child.

“Please, you really think these weaklings could take me?”

“They won’t have a chance at the rate you’re going.”

“I can handle myself.”

“Excuse us!” Sasha said loudly to get their attention. “Also in the room.” She gestured towards herself and Bayley, reminding the two women that all four of them had a job to do; this wasn’t the time for a one-on-one debate. At least, not if Sasha had anything to say about it. She’d always loathed being excluded from any conversation, and she was going to make damn sure that it didn’t become a regular occurrence here.

“We need to keep going,” Bayley reminded them. Time was a luxury they didn’t have, with evil continuing to sweep across the land with every passing day. They didn’t have time to waste.

* * *

Another staircase brough them down to another lower level.

“Damn, how deep does this place go?” Sasha asked.

A mischievous glint flitted across Becky’s eyes, and she enthusiastically opened her mouth to speak. Charlotte noticed and quickly raised a finger in Becky’s direction. “No. Whatever crude joke you’re about to make, don’t.”

“She _is_ a crude joke,” Sasha smirked, unable to resist the easy jab.

“No, what really is a crude joke is whoever chose your hair colour,” Becky fired back. “It’s really offensive to look at y’know.”

“Oh, YOU are judging hair colour now?!” Sasha laughed entirely without mirth.

“You two are children,” Bayley said exasperatedly as she brought the palm of her hand to her forehead and shook her head in disbelief. “We should have each other’s back, not bicker while we wait to get ambushed.”

Realising the wisdom of Bayley’s warning, Sasha and Becky decided to comply. For now. The four continued down the stone corridor, which fortunately appeared devoid of demon waiting in ambush.

They’d taken a couple of turns when they spotted a huddled group of Goatmen up ahead. Like the Khazra Becky had fought at the tower’s entrance, these were of the Blood Clan. True to their namesake, their flesh, clothing and weapons were coated in blood, the sticky substance shining in the torchlight.

“Before we head in, I want to try something,” Sasha announced.

“Oh, does little miss magician have a new trick up her sleeve?” Becky’s voice had taken on a mocking tone.

“You won’t be mocking me when I save your egotistical ass!” Sasha shot back; a scowl twisted across her features.

“Just,” Bayley sighed with all the air of a parent exasperated by two bickering children, “give it a go Sasha.”

Sasha closed her eyes and steadied her breathing, mind focusing on conjuring whatever spell she had in mind. Although the other three felt the air change around them, there wasn’t any visual difference to be found. Sasha opened her eyes again. “Let’s go.”

The four approached the group of Khazra, who grinned wickedly as they noticed the adventurers approach, malignant hatred in their eyes. Bardiches and axes in hand, they advanced to slaughter the hapless humans. Unfortunately for them, they were about to get more than they bargained for.

As soon as they got close enough, chains of lightning wrapped around the creatures’ bodies, causing their bodies to shudder violently. The dazzling lights faded, and the creatures continued to advance. But something was different.

“What did you do?” Charlotte glanced at Sasha.

“Static field,” Sasha answered. “They’re not hurt, but they’re weakened.”

As Becky, Charlotte, and Bayley engaged in melee combat with the bipedal bovines, Sasha’s assessment was proven correct. Although no wounds or burns were visible on the Goatmen’s skin, their attacks were sloppy, and the hatred was not as strong in their eyes as it had been previously. As a result, it was easy to dodge their clumsy strikes, and the four dispatched them with minimal effort. For once, a good portion of blood coating the Khazra corpses were their own.

“Guess these goatmen were baaaaa-d at fightin’” Becky joked, mimicking the bleating sounds heard as they fell.

“I don’t know how you manage to sound even more annoying than they do,” Sasha said, successfully hiding the fact that she actually enjoyed the joke.

“Just this once, I’ll let that slide. You didn’t disappoint with that new party trick lass.”

A slight smile tugged at the corners of Sasha’s lips. Despite where her relationship with Becky currently stood, her ego would always be pleased by a genuine compliment.

* * *

Having descended down the fourth flight of stairs, they noticed that there was something different about this floor of the catacombs. It wasn’t apparent at first, but it was blindingly obvious after they entered the first room. This floor had graves. Emphasis on _had_. Now there were empty holes were bodies used to be stored.

“Be on your guard,” Charlotte warned. “Those bodies have got to be waiting for us somewhere.”

She was proven right sooner rather than later. As they progressed along, they heard the familiar creaking of bones that heralded the presence of a skeleton. Then more and more, before they found themselves facing approaching waves of animated bones wielding swords and shields.

Though skeletons proved deadly to anyone unarmed or inexperienced in combat, their brittle bones proved to be of little threat to the four increasingly battle-hardy adventurers. Becky’s axes, Charlotte’s spear, Sasha’s lightning, and Bayley’s sword all saw to that. By the end of it, the four women surveyed the room, now cluttered with assorted bones and discarded weaponry.

“Hmph,” Becky huffed, “their fighting skills were fairly _bare-bones_.”

“Anybody else feeling the urge to push her down the next hole we find?” Charlotte turned to face Sasha and Bayley, as though Becky wasn’t actually present, a fact that the redhead scoffed in protest at. Sasha immediately nodded with enthusiasm, a wicked grin at the idea spreading across her lips. Bayley instead snorted at the unexpected suggestion.

“Y’know, normally I’d be offended at the idea of being pushed down a hole. But if that’s what yer into, I might just let you.” Becky winked at Charlotte in a way that made Bayley and Sasha immediately uncomfortable. Charlotte just kept a firm gaze, not letting any change in emotion show to give the infuriating redhead the satisfaction. The silence between them lingered, stretching on until eventually Bayley couldn’t take it anymore.

“Anyway,” the paladin strode forward towards the next staircase leading even further down.

* * *

As they entered the lower level, it immediately struck them just how far underground they’d ventured in these catacombs. There was a musty smell permeating the air that just hadn’t been as strong above. But there was also a sense that the air had been recently disturbed, that the smell had shifted around as though the long-buried and abandoned area had become active.

Turning right, they found themselves entering a long hall, devoid of any life. There were two ways they could go, with one archway on either side of the room.

“Right,” Becky said, and started pointing between each entranceway, “eney, meney, miny-”

“We’re going this way,” Charlotte interrupted, immediately going in the opposite direction of the entranceway Becky was about to land on, towards the other one. Sasha snickered at the dumbfounded look on Becky’s face.

Following the corridor round, Charlotte took a peek through the crack of the door at the end. What she saw immediately prompted her to duck beside the doorway, her back flat against the stone.

“What?” Bayley whispered. Not wanting to create noise to give away their presence, Charlotte just pointed at the door’s crack. Leaning forward, what Bayley saw made her immediately understand just what had given the amazon pause.

Inside the room stood the unmistakable form of the woman they’d thought long dead. Clad in an exquisite looking black and red robe, she held a sword in one hand, the blade red with dried blood. Although her hair was white, her skin was free of any imperfections. From what they knew of the castle, this could only be one person. But how the Countess was still alive after all this time, they could not say. Apparently the tales of her bathing in the blood of virgins to prolong her life were true.

But she was not alone. She was surrounded by a band of corrupted rogues, the same twisted versions corrupted by evil. There were too many of them in such a small space; it would be suicide to hurl themselves in with reckless abandon. Not that that ever stopped Becky.

“Move over,” Becky grunted a bit too loudly, shoving Bayley aside so she could open the door fully. As soon as she got the door open, she immediately stumbled backward ass-first on the floor with a yelp of surprise as a flaming wall of fire burst into being before her eyes, inches from where she had stood.

“Care for a bloodbath?” a wicked voice echoed before an evil cackle filled the air.

Becky scrambled back to her feet, regaining her wits and pressing herself up against the stone wall beside Bayley. “Okay, new plan.”

“Oh, NOW you want to strategise?!” Charlotte shot back incredulously from the opposite side of the wall, lips pursed together in anger at Becky’s recklessness.

“There’s too many of them to charge in,” Sasha pointed out from her spot beside Charlotte. “We need to draw them out.”

The four of them then began to cough as the acrid smoke from the enchanted fire began to seep into their lungs.

“Anything you can do about that fire Sash?” Bayley asked, eyes beginning to water from the heaving coughs.

“Of course,” Sasha steeled herself with a determined gaze. “Hold tight while I handle this like a boss.”

“Of all the times to deliberate…” Becky sighed, clearly not appreciating Sasha’s spiel.

“What about your ‘Man’ shtick?” Charlotte arched an eyebrow, smirking at the caught-out look on Becky’s face, knowing there was nothing she could say to disprove her point.

Thrusting her staff toward the fire, a globule of ice shot out of the tip, hissing as it dropped into the fire, causing the flames to extinguish. A wave of relief washed over them, able to breathe unhindered again.

But with the end of the fire came the start of battle. With the barrier dissolved, the corrupted rogues were far to start pouring out of the room. Luckily due to the layout of the corridor, that meant that only one could exit at a time. As soon as one funnelled out, the four were quick to meet them with brutal but swift attacks. They’d spent enough time fighting their sisters in the wilderness to know the quickest way to dispatch the warriors of evil.

It started off as an effective bottleneck, but eventually more began to slip through, a minor skirmish erupting in the corridor. Curiously though, the Countess was not among them. Nor did any more enchanted fire burst into being. As Becky continued to hack and slice away with her flaming axes at the enemies that came her way, she knew she’d make the Countess pay for her overconfidence. As an accomplished warrior, she was used to her enemies respecting her ability enough to treat her as equal, if not scurrying in abject fear. The arrogance to not even deem her worth entering the fray… Becky’s blood boiled at the disrespect.

Eventually the train of rogues stopped, derailed in a pile of blood and corpses on the floor around the four. That left one.

As they tentatively entered the room, they found the Countess stoically waiting for them. There was no discernible emotion on her features. She just continued to stare at the four adventurers who had stormed her underground lair and slaughtered her followers. Not a hint of fear, rage, confidence.

The foul woman waited for Becky and Charlotte to advance towards her before she made her move. She raised a hand, and a wave of fire erupted behind them, separating the two from Sasha and Bayley.

Now emotion appeared, her mouth twisting into a cruel smirk. “Your blood will boil!” The malevolent words radiated pure malice.

The evil Countess raised a wicked hand towards Becky, clearly planning to consume the woman in fire, something that would prove to be ironic considering that the very weapons she wielded were wreathed in flame, not to mention her choice of hair colour. But poetic justice aside, Charlotte could not allow her companion to fall in battle. Nobody was going to kill Becky while she was still pissed at her. And it was focusing on Becky that proved to be the Countess’ downfall.

Charlotte took advantage of the wicked woman’s focus on Becky, channelling all of her rage and anger towards the very woman she sought to protect, and using that to fuel her attack. As she plunged her spear into the vulnerable Countess, lightning crackled from the weapon, causing the dying woman to spasm as she took her final breaths.

As the corpse of the Countess crumpled to the floor, a cloud of white emerged from her mouth, travelling into the room behind her. As the fire wall separating Sasha and Bayley died down due to more of the sorceress’ ice conjuring, they heard the sound of heavy metal chests unlocking in the room the cloud had travelled into.

Noticing the lightning still crackling from the tip of the spear still embedded in the Countess’ flesh, a smirk crossed Sasha’s face as she folded her arms at Charlotte. “Taking inspiration, I see?”

“No. Unlike you, I did it with Flair.” Charlotte flipped her hair over her shoulder in a faux arrogance to punctuate her point. Her response was met with groans from the other three.

“That was worse than any pun I’ve made,” Becky interjected. “But glad to see I’m rubbing off on you.” She bounced her eyebrows suggestively, causing Charlotte to immediately look away.

“Come look at this!” the voice of Bayley called excitedly from the adjacent room. As Sasha, Becky and Charlotte joined her, they all shared similar looks of surprise at the sight before them.

The treasure of the Countess proved to be true. Within the room were three sturdy looking bronze treasure chests. All were wide open, revealing the riches inside. There were far too many gold coins for the four to carry, thousands making up a sizeable fortune. Even taking as much as they could carry, that would easily be enough to pay for any repairs or additional weapons or armour they would require. And they knew they would definitely need it in the days to come.

But that was not the most interesting thing about the treasure. Buried within the mountains of gold within the chests were multiple pieces of equipment that would prove incredibly useful to each of them. It was a testament to the Countess’ wealth that the gold coins were arranged as protection around the metal.

A squeal of joy was heard from Sasha as she pulled out a new staff. The others didn’t need to be versed in magic to feel the power emanating from the weapon. A crystal comprised the tip of the staff, half of it yellow, the other half pink. Bayley couldn’t help but smile warmly at the elation on her younger companion’s face. There was just something so pure at seeing the woman she’d grown fond of so happy.

Bayley’s thoughts were interrupted by the jangling of metal behind her, turning to see Becky pull out a chain mail vest out of a chest.

“The Man’s got mail,” Becky quipped with a self-assured grin.

Sasha was still too absorbed in her own bliss to make a snarky retort. Charlotte was still too busy searching through the final chest to say anything back, though Bayley suspected this was completely intentional.

“Well if you’re gonna keep leaping into battle so recklessly, you’ll need the protection,” the paladin said.

“Ah, great!” Charlotte exclaimed, retrieving a pair of metal gauntlets. After slipping them on, she flexed her fingers to test the metal’s dexterity, which proved adequate enough for her needs. The protection for her hands would prove useful. After all, she couldn’t use her trusty spear if her hands were injured or removed in combat.

The amazon threw her head over her shoulder to look right at Bayley. “Hey side-ponytail, got something here for you.” Approaching Charlotte, a smile spread across Bayley’s face as she saw what Charlotte was referring to. Inside the chest, sat atop a pile of gold coins was a gleaming sword. This one looked far sharper than her current sword. Although she tried to keep hers well maintained, it was simply not of the highest quality, and had begun to dull despite her best efforts.

Bayley grabbed her new sword out of the chest and took a step back before slicing it through the air to test its effectiveness and nimbleness, the metal swooshing as she did so. Satisfied with the results, Bayley sheathed her sword. The hugger then stayed true to her namesake, tackling Charlotte in a grateful hug.

Momentarily taken aback, Charlotte patted Bayley on the back before trying to gently push her away.

* * *

Their newest acquisitions in hand, the four departed the treasure trove and began to make their way back up to the surface. They’d filled their bags with as many gold coins as they dared without heavily weighing themselves down. There was a joyful mood in the air among them. Not only had they braved the horrors of the tower catacombs and slew the evil Countess, but they’d achieved their goal of finding the rumoured treasure, and were now in a good position going forward on their quest to save the world from demonic influence. All in a day’s work.

They were so busy chatting amicably amongst themselves, that none of them noticed a wall start to crumble and give way until it was too late.

Bringing up the rear, Sasha’s senses were dulled, still too enamoured by her new staff. Fragments of stone began to fall at her feet, and she looked up in horror to see the wall beside her beginning to crumble, the stone pillars threatening to topple over and crush her.

Becky happened to be the one with the sharpest wits, snapping her head back at the noise to see a frightened Sasha frozen in terror at the oncoming avalanche of rubble.

Charsi’s warning from earlier echoed inside her head. _“I heard that several sisters came to a gruesome end when a stairwell collapsed on them.”_

This was exactly what Becky had feared about venturing into the tower. Her worst nightmare was happening right before her eyes. Only it wasn’t happening to her, it was happening to someone she sought to protect.

Without a second thought, Becky sprinted towards Sasha, pulling her out of harm’s way with a strong jerk, seconds before the deadly cascade of stone. The passage in which Sasha had stood a split second before was now blocked off by the collapsed wall.

Sasha stood hyperventilating at her brush with death. Bayley and Charlotte rushed over to check on them, Bayley immediately wrapping her arms around the horrified sorceress, rubbing soothing circles on her shoulders.

As Sasha’s breathing evened out, realisation dawned on her.

Becky had saved her.

Facing the barbarian, she noticed a look of concern etched on her features. They say actions speak louder than words, and this one action had proved how badly she’d misjudged the redhead.

“Thank you,” Sasha eventually managed to get out, her voice hoarse from panic. The two words had a weight to them, as though this was the strongest and most genuine she’d ever meant them. Becky nodded in acknowledgement, still equally lost for words, and not wanting to sully the moment with unnecessary verbiage. A frown of regret then settled over Sasha’s face. “I’m sorry.”

“What for lass?” Becky looked genuinely confused.

“I was wrong not to trust you. I’ve been unfair to you from the moment we met.” Sasha shook her head with disappointment towards herself.

Becky lips tilted in an encouraging smile, the warmth showing in her eyes. For once it wasn’t a grin or a smirk, but a genuine smile of compassion. “Apology accepted. Don’t beat yourself up about it lass, I never took it personally.”

For the very first time, the two were speaking without any character to play up, no bluster, no snark. Just genuine communication between two women who were grateful of each other’s presence.

* * *

As Bayley stuck close to Sasha’s side to bring comfort, Charlotte walked close enough to Becky for their conversation to go unheard by the two walking behind them.

Charlotte found herself simultaneously impressed and bewildered by the flame-haired barbarian’s actions. Becky and Sasha had been at each other’s throats all day, yet Becky risked her own life to save Sasha’s. And especially in such a way that forced Becky to relieve a particularly painful memory from years past. Even afterwards, Becky then further showed her true compassion, proving intuitive enough to know that the younger woman would blame herself for her unfair treatment towards Becky. And then she had had the humaneness to reassure Sasha, when she could have been bitter enough to rebuke her. Becky had both upset Charlotte and restored her faith all in a matter of hours.

“You conquered your fear,” Charlotte whispered. Lame as though the obvious declaration was, she found herself lost for words.

“Honestly, I didn’t even think about it,” Becky said back, taking note of the surprise radiating in Charlotte’s eyes in reaction. “I just saw it happening and knew I could stop it.” Becky swallowed the lump in her throat before turning to look at Charlotte. “And fer what it’s worth, I’m sorry for snapping at you earlier.”

The tall blonde nodded in approval. Despite how strained their relationship had been upon entering the tower, Becky’s heroic actions had proven her strength of character. Charlotte was definitely ready to peel back even more of her layers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! 
> 
> So, all the abrasiveness between Becky and Sasha, and Charlotte and Becky (damn, Becky is the common denominator here!) now seems to be behind them. It's not going to be completely smooth sailing from here, but at least now Sasha knows she can trust Becky. And how good of Becky to try to reassure Sasha. Now we can get to them becoming friends. At least now with the treasure, Sasha is no longer poor!
> 
> What did we think? Was it exciting? Was it fun? Enough comedy? Too forced? Whether your feedback is positive or negative, please let me know what you thought! If you haven't already, please consider leaving kudos and subscribing for email updates.
> 
> \- HunTAH

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed, then please subscribe and leave kudos/comments. Comments let me know what I'm doing right or wrong, and what people particularly enjoyed or disliked, so please don't be shy. :)
> 
> If you want to find me on social media, you can find me on Twitter @ahunter8056
> 
> \- HunTAH


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